Are We Allowed To Enjoy Crufts?

You’re lying on your sofa, still hungover from Saturday night, trying to cheer yourself up by watching adorable little dogs jump about and attempt obstacle courses on Crufts. It’s a lovely time, Olly the Jack Russell goes absolutely mental on his agility course again, you’re basically crying at how cute Dylan the Papillon is. You start scrolling through Instagram to find more adorable Crufts content to well up at. Suddenly, you're confronted by a storm of ugly truths as animal rights activists condemn the talent show every year.

This year, Downton Abbey star Peter Egan joined the chorus of voices protesting the competition. Writing for the Radio Times, he stated he wouldn't be seen dead at the 'glitziest dog “celebration” of the year'. Last year, the condemnations weren't just online, in fact two activists ran onto the stag as Tease the Whippet - last year's Best in Show winner - was presented the award. Unsurprisingly, it was a PETA-sponsored protest, fighting against extreme dog breeding.

It's with all of this chaos that we're forced to ask the dreaded question, should we all be boycotting Crufts?

What seems to be a harmless competition where you can watch cute dogs prance about as you nurse a hangover is actually extremely ‘messed up’, according to PETA. And they’re not the only ones, the RSPCA has been boycotting Crufts since 2008, the same year the BBC stopped airing the show following concerns about the welfare of animals.

Now showing on Channel 4, the competition continues to be attacked by animal rights activists, who claim that it encourages the breeding of pedigree dogs with unnatural features, whom also live much shorter lives than mixed breed dogs. Stating that ‘most of the dogs are inbred’, PETA Director Elisa Allen said:

‘Crufts glorifies pedigree fetishists' twisted pursuit of the 'perfect' dog. There's nothing natural about breeding dogs with extreme and debilitating physical traits, and PETA urges everyone to stay away from this cruel beauty pageant.’

Examples of debilitating physical traits include the squashed-in faces of pugs, who suffer from breathing difficulties and we’re discouraged from being used in advertising by the Brachycephalic Working Group in 2017 due to this. PETA also includes bulldogs and daschunds as examples of dogs that should not be celebrated on the show.

Crufts responded to the condemnations by PETA and their protest last year by putting out their own statement, saying:

‘Protesters from PETA gained unauthorised access to the ring in the Main Arena at Crufts, and in doing so scared the dogs and put the safety of both dogs and people at risk in a hugely irresponsible way.

‘Our main priority is always the wellbeing of the dogs that are in the ring, who were looked after by their owners and show officials after the incident.’

So, what the hell do we make of all this? Should we also be boycotting Crufts?

Essentially, there is no doubt that Crufts does imply that purebred dogs are better than mixed-breeds, perpetuating the vile way sellers breed pedigree dogs purely for a profit, without any care for their health or wellbeing. It therefore encourages people to buy the latest trendy dog, rather than adopting a dog that would otherwise spend their life in a cage.

While The Kennel Club, who own Crufts, do register crossbreed dogs, they’re relatively limited to ‘designer dogs’ and participate in their own separate competition, called…wait for it…

Scruffts.

Yep.

Basically, if you own a crossbreed, your dog is a scruff, according to The Kennel Club.

With all this being said, it’s quite clear Crufts is extremely problematic as it stands. So, will they change their rules and celebrate all dogs so we can watch cute fluffy animals run passed all of their obstacles guilt-free? Probably not. Right now, you’re going to have to settle for our cute dog gallery when you need your hungover dog fill...

This article originally appeared on The Debrief.