A major new report has raised concerns that existing laws designed to protect dogs from genetic and conformational suffering may not be being used effectively by local authorities across England and Scotland.
The report, Protecting Dogs from Genetic and Conformational Suffering: Are We Using the Legal Rules Effectively?, was produced by Naturewatch Foundation, the Legal Advisory Group on Extreme Conformation in Dogs (LAGECDogs) and the UK Centre for Animal Law (A-LAW). It examines how councils assess licensed dog breeders and whether they are enforcing regulations intended to prevent the breeding of dogs likely to pass on serious health and welfare problems to their offspring.
The regulations require licensed dog breeders to avoid breeding from dogs where their genetics, physical characteristics, health status or, in Scotland, behaviour, could reasonably be expected to have a detrimental impact on either the parent dogs or their puppies. These rules were specifically designed to address welfare concerns linked to inherited diseases and extreme conformational traits such as very short muzzles, excessive skin folds and other exaggerated physical features associated with chronic health problems.
Using Freedom of Information requests sent to 326 local authorities, the researchers found that there were approximately 2,390 licensed dog breeders operating across England and Scotland during 2025. However, the way councils assess compliance with the welfare requirements varies considerably. Some authorities reported using veterinary expertise, health testing records and detailed welfare assessments, while others provided only limited information on how compliance is evaluated. In some cases, no clear assessment process could be identified.
One of the report’s most striking findings was the low number of recorded breaches. Between 2018 and August 2025, only 31 instances of non-compliance were reported in England, despite more than 2,200 licensed breeders being in operation. Scotland reported no recorded instances of non-compliance at all since equivalent legislation was introduced in 2021.
The authors question whether these figures genuinely reflect compliance levels or whether the regulations are not being fully understood or enforced. In several cases, councils reported identifying dogs that were unsuitable for breeding but did not formally record these as breaches of the regulations. Instead, some authorities simply excluded individual dogs from breeding licences rather than treating the issue as non-compliance.
Where breaches were identified, the reasons commonly involved inherited genetic conditions, conformational problems linked to poor health, failures to undertake appropriate health testing, concerns over general health, or behavioural and temperament issues. Examples included dogs affected by hereditary eye conditions, dogs requiring surgery to correct conformational defects, and breeding stock with known health concerns that could negatively affect future offspring.
The report also highlights concerns surrounding the continued popularity of dogs with extreme conformations. Previous research cited in the report suggests that around a quarter of UK dogs exhibit at least one extreme conformational trait, while more than one in five dogs belong to a flat-faced breed type. These characteristics can be associated with breathing difficulties, eye disease, skin disorders and other lifelong welfare challenges.
Among the recommendations are calls for clearer guidance for both breeders and local authorities, greater use of veterinary expertise during inspections, improved training for licensing officers and more consistent enforcement of existing regulations. The authors also suggest further research into how councils assess compliance and respond when welfare concerns are identified.
The report comes at a time when the UK Government has acknowledged growing concerns about dogs being bred for fashionable physical characteristics that compromise health and welfare. The authors hope their findings will help improve enforcement, strengthen welfare protections and reduce the number of dogs suffering as a result of poor breeding decisions.
Source report: Protecting Dogs from Genetic and Conformational Suffering: Are We Using the Legal Rules Effectively? (May 2026). Click here to read it in full.
