Belgium tightens regulations for dog breeders

Agriculture Minister Joke Schauvliege has announced a new measure for the protection of purebred dogs. As of January, breeders of pedigree dogs will be required to register their dogs and carry out a mandatory blood test on the animals, in order to prevent the breeding of sick animals, report Het Nieuwsblad and Het Belang van Limburg.

The reason behind the stricter measure is that the Animal Genetics lab at UZ Gent last year identified genetic problems in 23 purebred dogs. Schauvliege’s aim is to enforce mandatory testing for certain genetic disorders in order to forbid further breeding with those animals.

Breeders will soon risk a fine should they continue to breed with dogs shown to have a genetic disorder or illness.