July 12, 2024: PDF file of this release here

INTERNATIONAL WELFARE GROUP CALLS FOR WORLDWIDE END TO THE USE OF IMAGES OF DOGS WITH EXTREME BODY SHAPES IN ADVERTISING

Embargoed until 1am CET Friday July 12th, 2024

Summary

The ICECDogs is now formally calling on all advertisers and other users of public/social media worldwide to stop using images of dogs with extreme conformations in all forms of public communications that are not directly aimed at protecting the health and wellbeing of dogs and to instead focus on using images that promote physically healthy conformations in dogs.

Full information

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 normalisation 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).

Dr Dan O’Neill, Chair of the UK Brachycephalic Working Group said “Millions of dogs continue to suffer worldwide every year from extreme and unnecessary body shapes. This new ICECDogs message calls on advertisers to play their part in ending the normalisation of suffering from extreme body shapes and will hopefully contribute to the ongoing worldwide movement to instead celebrate healthy body shapes in dogs.”

Members of the general public who identify advertisements contravening this ICECDogs welfare guidance are advised to report this to the relevant advertising standards agency in their country and also to contact the advertisers directly. Many advertisers are simply unaware of the harms that their actions are causing for dogs and those who care about animal welfare will immediately withdraw inappropriate imagery.

The general ICECDogs advice to advertisers is to err on the side of welfare caution and to avoid using any images of dogs where there are any concerns about extreme conformation. With ready access to images from so many other dog types without extreme conformations, there is simply no justification for not using alternative images of physically healthy dogs that can instead help promote positive welfare in dogs.

Notes to editors

About ICECDogs:

Further information is available at https://www.icecdogs.com/ 

The International Collective on Extreme Conformations in Dogs (ICECDogs) is a global multi-stakeholder group that works together to minimize welfare issues resulting from extreme conformations in dogs by seeking out and applying evidence-based canine and human approaches.

The current focus of the ICECDogs is to support national/regional multi-stakeholder groups engaged in the issues raised by extreme conformation in dogs, and to act as a leader in the development and dissemination of policy and guidance on minimizing extremes of conformation and promoting moderate, healthy conformation in dogs. 

ICECDogs collaborates with (multi)-)stakeholder groups in the following countries:

1. Australia

2. Canada

3. Denmark

4. Germany

5. Ireland

6. New Zealand

7. Sweden

8. United Kingdom

Position statement Infographic (click the image for downloadable version)