"Responsible breeders"

[MCR_Rox]

How can people call any breeder "responsible?" All breeders are responsible for the companion animal over-population, whether they like it or not. They cannot deny it. Some people say that just because they are not a BYB, they are not responsible for the over-population. If people went to a shelter instead of getting buying a pure-bred ( is probably inbred, anyway,) one life would be saved. Instead, some choose to buy an animal, and pay $ that supports the over-population. Also, breeders will breed more when all of their animals are gone. If someone buys from a "responsible" breeder who only breeds 1 or 2 litters at once, and 5 people decide to adopt than buy, less animals will be left to die. If they DO buy the animals, and the breeding animals usually have 5 offspring, that easily makes it possible for the "responsible" breeder to not be able to breed.


PETA:
PETA >> Animal Rights Uncompromised: There's No Such Thing as a 'Responsible Breeder'

[i-love-nev]

I couldnt have said it better myself! thank you so much for this helping post!

[PiggyPaws]

That is really interesting - I never thought of it that way before and it does make complete sense.
Breeding = rescue animals die = irresponsible

[Ly&Pigs]

If one could find a "responsible" breeder that is truly trying to breed for the betterment of pigs then it would be ok. I think they are few and far between if any exist at all. If there were such breeders out there trying to better the species, ie: getting rid of osteodystropy in satins as one example, then in my opinion that would be a good thing.

Most breeders probably think of themselves as responsible but are anything but. They aren't trying to cure health problems in the pigs they create but are adding to the overpopulation problem. Many breed I think trying to get that perfect colored pig for a show or are trying to create some fancy new breed that we don't even need.

Take Skinny pigs. I think it was some type of mutation in the genes and one day a litter was born and there was this poor little hairless pig in it. That breeder thought, OHHHH, I think it's cute so I will try to breed more of these because they will become some novelty that people will want. Did they care that skinny pigs have so many health issues? Probably not because they kept on creating them not trying to better their heath issues and then others started to "catch the craze" and started breeding more skinny pigs. I feel if something is naturally supposed to be born with hair, why mess with nature and take it's hair away.

I saw this show on tv a couple weeks ago about animals. There is a breeder in the UK who is now breeding these miniature/dwarf cats. (I think it's the same breeder who breeds a hairless version as well.) They have these short, short legs but the body is about the same as a regular sized cat. There was a geneticist on the show also talking about how these miniaturized cats will more than likely not live as long and will have heart problems because the gene that controls the growth of the extremeties is also tied into the heart. I think it's terrible. Why the heck does one need a miniature/dwarf cat? It's just another novelty.

[PiggyPaws]

Originally Posted by Ly&Pigs

There is a breeder in the UK who is now breeding these miniature/dwarf cats. (I think it's the same breeder who breeds a hairless version as well.) They have these short, short legs but the body is about the same as a regular sized cat. There was a geneticist on the show also talking about how these miniaturized cats will more than likely not live as long and will have heart problems because the gene that controls the growth of the extremeties is also tied into the heart. I think it's terrible. Why the heck does one need a miniature/dwarf cat? It's just another novelty.

That is awful. If this breeder keeps breeding these miniture cats, then once the novelty of them is gone and people realise that they do not want nor need a cat with short legs what will happen to the cats? Go to rescues where no one will want them so they get euthanised.
Sometimes I wonder what on earth people are thinking when they do this, purposly bring a breed into this world that is doomed for a short-lived life that is most likely deprived of the things that cats like to do (jump on fences, chase things) because of it's short legs.

I'm sorry but I find that just horrific.

[Hooray4Ashley]

In the way of cats. There are certain pure bred breeds that I absolutely adore. But because of the shelter cat population I would never actually go out a purchase one. My husband and I have two cats, and I always wanted to abyssinian. I was NEVER going to seek one out that wasn't from a shelter because of all the other cats in the shelter. My husband said no more cats anyways. Luckally for me, at the vets office I work at, we have a client who thinks pets are disposable. She spends a fortune on these animals, then decides she wants something else, and finds them homes. She got an abyssinian kitten. She paid 900 dollars for it! That's right NINE HUNDRED DOLLARS for a CAT. I commented to her jokingly one day when she picked the kitten up for boarding "Oh I would love to have her". The next day she brought her in and gave her to me. A 900 dollar cat, she just decided she didn't want anymore after having for two months. She was only 4 months old when she gave her to me...spayed, and all four paw declawed (horrible since the cat always tries to get out). My husband made the exception and allowed me to have her. She's the only one of our cats we have ever had any health problems with. Go figure...the pure breed is the one who ends up with IBS. I don't really know what this rant was about...but that's all.

[MCR_Rox]

Actually, the hairless guinea pig was first bred for ANIMAL TESTING. Animal testing is cruel and inaccurate. The first hairless guineas were probably in so much unbearable pain, especially since he/she was hairless. Then I guess they decided to breed them for pets.

[Ly&Pigs]

See, that just goes to show that I really don't know much about guinea pig breeding or any breeding for that matter. I have never researched on how skinnies/baldwins actually came into existance. I had just kind of formulated a theory but you have cleared it up for me and I thank you for that. Still, no matter how they came to be, it's still ended up being a type of novelty since they have no fur.

[MCR_Rox]

Here is a Wikipedia article on the Skinny Pig:
Skinny pig - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Some of the information on that article is clearly wrong, though.

EDIT: Don't people get pig allergies from the urine, and not from the fur?

EDIT: Fixed some info on there.

[diane]

Just thinking about what you said about dwarf cats and was wondering if anyone knew if the cats with extra toes was/is an accident or is this a novelty thing as well? And isn't it weird how in animals baldness is a novelty and in humans it is typically seen as undesirable.

[VoodooJoint]

The cats with extra toes are called Hemingway cats or Polydactyls. It's a normally harmless anomaly that just "happens" due to the at least on of the breeding cats carrying the gene. Yes it was originally caused by inbreeding but that is no longer a problem.

Rumor has it that U.S. Polydactyl cats originated with Ernest Hemingway (thus the name Hemingway cat) Our Cats - HEMINGWAY HOME & MUSEUM

[Lemonjello]

Wikipedia is written by anyone, so you can go in and edit almost any page.

[Weatherlight]

While I am against breeding, period, as far as contributing to overpopulation goes, that also applies to "responsible" breeders who breed to "better" the breed in terms of health and temperament (temperament that is convenient for and desirable by humans, that is). They aren't all that rare in the dog showing world, from what I understand. These are the people who scrutinize genes, individual traits, traits of dams/sires and their dams/sires many generations back, their entire lines and their ancestors' lines. They track down every relative of the bitch and potential stud they can and see how they are performing (btw, just to throw this in, a Champion title is almost meaningless). They take everything they can into account to bring together the two mating dogs who best complement each others' desirable and undesirable traits. They go to great lengths to research and give the best of care to their dogs, often doing things like BARF diets. They spare no expense, veterinary monitoring is assumed, cutting corners is out of the question. Every dog in their "kennel" lives in their house, each is known and loved as an individual. The litter is kept in optimal conditions. The puppies are weighed, tested, whatever else. They are socialized with many other dogs and dozens of humans by the time they are two months old, along with being already trained to basic cues such as sit and down. The buyers of puppies not being kept by the breeder have been thoroughly screened, the purchase contract is thorough, and they have been on a waiting list for years. The breeder may lose over $10,000 on this one litter.

They are still putting dogs in homes, including their own, that obviously have the resources to give good care to dogs on death row. The question is of willingness. They are willing to provide good homes to purebred dogs who are top candidates for the show ring, who are part of a gratifying pet (no pun intended, damn) project/hobby. Will they open their hearts to dogs, purebred or not, good for the show ring or not (many do quite well, mixed breeds just can't be shown for conformation obviously), good for that type of ego building or not? That is the question.