Imagine: you buy a cute puppy or kitten, and a month later you find out that your pet has been added to the activists’ “black list”.
This is not the plot of a thriller - animal rights activists are increasingly demanding a ban on entire breeds, calling their existence cruelty.
Which pets fell victim to this war?
Exotic Cats: When Fashion Is More Important Than Health
Persian and exotic cats with flattened faces are the main targets of animal rights activists. Their breeding is called "mutational cruelty" because such cats suffer from breathing problems, eye problems and overheating.
This doesn't just apply to cats: for example, pugs with too flat a muzzle are also included in the "risk group".
Brachycephalic dogs: wheezing instead of barking
Pugs, bulldogs and shih tzus have also found themselves on the blacklists of animal rights activists. Their problems are not just “cute grunts”, but the consequences of many years of inbreeding. Keeping such breeds is considered “socially irresponsible”.
Wolf-Dog Hybrids: Forbidden Luxury
Wolfdogs - a cross between a wolf and a shepherd - have become a trend on social media, but their popularity has turned into a scandal.
The reason? They are difficult to socialize, and their instincts are unpredictable. Animal rights activists block the accounts of wolfdog owners.
Fighting breeds: branded for life
Even if your pit bull saved children from a fire, it will be marked as “potentially dangerous” in animal rights databases. The main problem is stereotypes: after attacks, the media often blames the breed, not the negligence of the owners.
Red cats: victims of superstition
In Turkey and Greece, ginger cats are sometimes associated with superstition, but this does not lead to mass killings. However, animal rights activists include such cats in the lists of "risky" animals - not because of myths, but because of their high popularity.
Abandoned redheads are more likely than others to end up in shelters, as people buy them impulsively, succumbing to the fashion for “rare color”.
Animal rights activists' blacklists are not a death sentence, but a call to action. They call for refusing to support painful mutations and illegal breeding. Your pet will not become an outcast if you choose a breed consciously, and not for the sake of likes on social networks.
Author: Elena Shimanovskaya