Germany’s beloved dachshund could be threatened in the country, its national kennel club said on Wednesday, citing a new bill that seeks to ban the breeding of dogs with “skeletal anomalies.”
The bill, published in February and currently being considered by authorities, was introduced as part of the Animal Protection Act, which seeks to strengthen existing laws on so-called “breeding by torture,” the German government said.
The document said it could prohibit the breeding of breeds prone to particular problems, such as the frequent spinal problems seen in dogs with short legs and long backs.
According to the German Kennel Club (VDH), other national favorites, such as the German shepherd and the schnauzer, and even Snoopy himself, the beagle, could also be affected.
History has seen many famous lovers of the short but feisty dachshund, or “dackel,” as it is known in German.
Napoleon Bonaparte owned several dachshunds, and Germany’s last emperor, Kaiser Wilhelm II, had a tombstone erected for his dachshund, “Erdmann.”
Painter Pablo Picasso was photographed with his dachshund, Lump, who inspired the artist’s famous line drawing, “Le Chien.”
A dachshund even became the first official mascot of the Olympic Games (in Germany, of course) when organizers introduced the dachshund Waldi for the 1972 Summer Olympics.
“The dachshund is part of Germany’s cultural heritage,” Marion Michelet, president of the Deutscher Teckelklub Berlin-Brandenburg dog club and owner of a dachshund named Pepper, told CNN on Wednesday. “The dachshund is not inbred just because it is small and has short legs.”
Michelet added that he believes “the new bill is exaggerated… and is directed against breeding as a whole.”
The VDH has launched a petition to save “our favorite dogs”, arguing that the reform would leave too much room for interpretation when determining what constitutes a genetic defect.
As of Wednesday, the petition had gathered more than 15,000 signatures.
Germany’s proposed reform is “scandalous”, according to Kerstin Schwartz, a dachshund breeder and owner of 27 dogs from Brandenburg, near Berlin. (Courtesy of Kerstin Schwartz via CNN Newsource)
On its website, the VDH stated that “many of the proposed changes, such as regulating the online animal trade or taking action against the illegal puppy trade, make sense.”
“However, the animal protection law contains requirements that could mean the end of many healthy dog breeds in Germany,” he added.
Michelet told CNN that “anomalies of the skeletal system” could be seen as prohibiting the breeding of “any significant deviation in size from wolves,” which are the ancestors of all modern dogs.
Germany’s Agriculture Ministry denied that the new bill amounted to a ban on certain breeds, including the dachshund.
“We do not intend to ban the dachshund,” a spokesperson for the Ministry of Agriculture told CNN, adding: “What we intend with this reform is to prohibit breeding under torture.”
The ministry said the new regulation seeks to prohibit husbandry practices that inflict long-term suffering on animals.
“We want to constantly protect animals from pain, suffering and harm,” the ministry said, adding that the details of how the new regulations would work are still under discussion.
Kerstin Schwartz, a dachshund breeder and owner of 27 dogs from Brandenburg, near Berlin, told CNN that the proposed reform is “scandalous.”
She argued that the kennel club she belongs to has adhered to the same breeding standards since 1888. “For 136 years we have not changed our standard breeding practices.”
“If breeding is banned, it would have a significant impact” on dog breeders like herself, she said, adding, “I hope it doesn’t come to that.”