PETA are calling on Channel 4 to stop airing Crufts. The BBC dropped the show after revelations about ill, inbred animals, and the RSPCA refuses to attend it. The culture of breeding has serious health implications for the dogs involved on the show. PETA claims:
With its obsession with "purity of breed", Crufts popularises grossly exaggerated features in animals and awards prizes to dogs whose physical abnormalities make it impossible for them to lead a happy life – pugs with pushed-in faces who can barely breathe, Cavalier King Charles spaniels whose brains are too big for their skulls and bulldogs who can't even mate without assistance, to name just a few examples.
The campaign says that this culture of breeding also have wider implication for canine welfare, pointing out that breeders may receive thousand of pounds for pedigree puppies with a low quality of life, while many healthy dogs remain in animal shelters.
In March 2022 PETA slammed the competition as a “grotesque charade”. It is asking its supporters to contact Channel 4 and ask it to stop airing the show.