MUMBAI: Ahead of World Plastic Surgery Day (15 July), PETA India said it was launching an appeal to remind everyone that while humans may have a choice when it comes to the shape of their nose, pet dog
breeds
like
Pugs
and other flat-faced dogs don’t. PETA said they are intentionally and cruelly bred to have a snout so squashed it’s difficult for them to even breathe, so compassionate people should never buy them.
The awareness drive, PETA said, will be simultaneously held in Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Kolkata, among other cities.
In Mumbai, a giant billboard will be displayed at Marine Lines.
Pugs and other breathing-impaired breeds (BIB), including French and English bulldogs, Pekingese, Boston terriers, boxers, Cavalier King Charles spaniels, and shih tzus, suffer from an agonising and sometimes fatal condition called brachycephalic
syndrome
, which causes them to pant, snort, wheeze, and struggle just to breathe. It can make chasing a ball, running, playing, and even going for a walk difficult. The situation is so serious that a number of countries, including Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, and Norway, have banned or are currently working on amendments which either ban or restrict the breeding of some or all BIBs, PETA has said.
