Here’s Why PETA is Urging Western Bulldogs to Retire Bulldog Mascots
Promoting breathing-impaired dog breeds (BIBs) normalises their suffering from numerous respiratory ailments. With this in mind, PETA sent a letter to AFL club Western Bulldogs calling on its president to retire Caesar and Sunny, the team’s live bulldog mascots. English bulldogs, French bulldogs, pugs, and other BIBs are deliberately bred to have flat faces and squashed, almost non-existent noses that can result in severe health problems – including brachycephalic syndrome, a leading cause of death for bulldogs.
As well as asking that Caesar and Sunny’s mascot duties be relinquished to the willing humans behind the team’s four costumed mascots, Woofer, Roxie, Butch, and Barkly, we’ve suggested that the team change its name to the “Western Mutts” in order to encourage fans who may consider bringing an animal companion into their family to adopt from their local shelter. The team could even dedicate some time during each game to showcase a dog from one of the country’s many overburdened animal shelters and help save lives!
Extremely short snouts spell suffering. By showcasing Caesar and Sunny at games and events and promoting their breeder, the team is – however unwittingly – supporting the intentional breeding of dogs with painful and debilitating deformities.
BIBs’ drastically shortened airways cause an array of painful and distressing symptoms – including laboured breathing, snorting, gagging, and collapsing – and make dogs more susceptible to vomiting, exercise intolerance, heatstroke, and an early death. So debilitating are these features that the Australian Veterinary Association has called for a ban on breeding or showing any dog with “a muzzle length less than a third of [their] skull length”.
Read PETA’s full letter to the Western Bulldogs here.
Always Adopt, Don’t Shop
It’s cruel to purposely breed dogs with near non-existent noses, condemning them to a lifetime of panting and gasping for air and an early grave.
Many flat-faced dog breeds – like bulldogs and pugs – can barely breathe, let alone enjoy a walk or chase a ball. These dogs endure miserable lives. PETA encourages Western Bulldogs fans and everyone else to adopt animal companions from their local shelter and turn their noses up at breeders who profit from churning out miserable, unhealthy animals who struggle to breathe.
