Document type: Press release from the International Collective on Extreme Conformations in Dogs (ICECDogs)
Author: ICECDogs
Preview: The International Collective on Extreme Conformations in Dogs (ICECDogs) is a multinational group formed to address the escalating global welfare issues and suffering caused by extreme conformations (body shapes) in dogs.
ICECDogs defines extreme conformation in dogs as: A physical appearance that has been so significantly altered through selection by humankind away from the ancestral natural canine appearance that affected dogs commonly suffer from poor health and welfare, with negative impacts on their quality and quantity of life.
Increasingly over the past decade, owners have been choosing to acquire dogs with extreme conformations such as very flat faces, no or deformed twisted tails, shortened twisted legs and deep skin folds. These and other extreme conformations are all linked with high risk of serious health and welfare problems for these dogs that often last for the lifetime of the dog and severely reduce their quality of life. Much of this increased public demand for dogs with extreme conformation that causes so much suffering is believed to result from the commonplace use of images of dogs with extreme conformations as promotional aids in advertising and social media that has now resulted in normalization of these harmful body shapes.
With the goal of reducing the unnecessary suffering of dogs internationally that results from the unintended promotion of canine extreme body shapes in advertising and social media, ICECDogs hereby calls on all advertisers and public/social media users worldwide to stop using images of dogs with extreme conformation unless such use is directly aimed at animal health and welfare protection. In support of this worldwide call to end the inappropriate use of images of dogs with extreme conformation in advertising and social media, ICECDogs has produced detailed guidance to assist advertisers and social media users to understand and apply the new guidelines. In their new guidance document, International Guidelines on the Use of Imagery of Dogs with Extreme Conformations in Advertising, ICECDogs outlines the basic physical attributes and abilities that any dog must have to ensure their capacity to enjoy a full canine life experience without limitation from health and welfare issues linked to extreme conformations. Common examples of such health and welfare issues linked to extreme conformation include chronic pain (e.g., eye ulcers because of protruding eyes) or physical incapacity (e.g., unable to sleep or exercise fully due to breathing difficulties from being flat-faced).
