Legal Advisory Group on Extreme Conformation in Dogs (LAGECDogs)

Overview

The Legal Advisory Group on Extreme Conformation in Dogs (LAGECDogs) is a multi-disciplinary sub-group situated within the UK Centre for Animal Law (A-LAW). We apply our legal, scientific and welfare expertise to the creation of a more effective legal and policy regime in the UK to protect domesticated dogs from conformation-related suffering. Our LAGECDogs research and analysis address the capacity of current and future legal frameworks to protect dogs from the harms resulting from selective breeding for conformational extremes, with much of our early work focused on the legal and welfare issues around brachycephaly (short muzzle).

In our view, the current law and policy in the UK must do more to reverse the normalisation, and indeed, celebration of extreme conformation in dogs across UK society. Improvements in coverage, clarity and enforcement of the law would promote a greater understanding among purchasers, owners, breeders and the wider public of the basic key physical traits and biological functions needed by all dogs to protect their health and welfare. These traits include fundamental natural abilities of dogs to breathe, blink, sleep, exercise, mate and give birth naturally, as well as to exhibit evolutionary normal canine behaviours such as interacting with conspecifics, playing and maintaining their own hygiene.

Current activities and outputs

Legal analysis of current law and policy

LAGECDogs produces legal analysis on the application of current law in the UK, to stakeholder activities or policies that affect the breeding, purchasing, ownership or advertising of dogs with extreme conformation. 

Published legal analyses to date mainly address the law in England and include:

• Penalties for breeding dogs in breach of licensing conditions.
• Legal implications of the Kennel Club and University of Cambridge ‘Respiratory Function Grading Scheme’ in England.
• Legal requirements in the UK to protect dogs from heat-related illness (heatstroke) 

Improving implementation of current law

LAGECDogs works with key stakeholders to improve compliance, monitoring and enforcement of existing legal obligations. Several members have worked closely with APGAW to develop a practical Innate Health Assessment tool to support local authority inspectors in evaluating the conformational health of each dog kept for breeding by licensed breeders to ensure compliance with existing animal welfare legislation. This tool can also assist the general public to better understand the legal and welfare implications arising from the conformation of any dog they might plan to acquire. 

Members have also been researching how local authorities in England and Scotland assess compliance with existing legal rules designed to prevent harmful breeding.

Proposals for statutory reform 

LAGECDogs also works in collaboration with other stakeholders on legislative reform. We consider the Animal Welfare Act 2006 requires reform to extend legal obligations to avoid breeding from dogs with extreme conformation to all breeders, not only those who fall under licensing regimes. We are currently developing these reform proposals alongside APGAW and others.