[peachbongi]

The remainder of the meeting was a dynamic presentation by Patti Strand entitled
“Preserve Purebreds: Preserve Dog Ownership Rights.” The public needs to have
all the facts in front of them, not the mis-information touted by AR groups such as HSUS
and PETA. Most people truly value the animal-human relationship and would be
horrified to know that the true goals of these groups is to destroy this relationship and end
up with a world where there are no more pets. Recent US pet censuses reveal that future
trends may lead us down that very path. Marketing, legislative, and fundraising
campaigns of our opponents focus public attention on the problems and the media then
caters to ratings rather than to balanced reporting. The coverage of the Michael Vick
case and every “puppy mill raid” are prime examples. On the legislative front, even
when we eventually defeat bad bills, the public perceptions have been slanted and
influenced adversely, closer and closer to the AR agenda with each campaign they hear
about. So let’s take a look at the real facts about pets and where they are going to come
from in the future. If current trends continue, by 2018 only 220,000 AKC dogs will be
registered. Purebred dogs from hobby, backyard, and commercial breeders are ALL
down. International sources, both legal and illegal, are rising. Petfinders is the biggest
source of dogs for the public today. In 2008 between 78% and 87% of all dogs were
neutered, as shelters only adopt after neutering and many breeders sell only neutered pets.
To replace the dogs currently in US households today, 7.9% of those dogs will need to be
replaced annually. Today there are 72 million dogs in US homes, so that means 5.7
million new dogs are needed annually. By 2018, with current trends, there will be a
shortage of 1.86 million dogs! In only two to four years we will be unable to replace
dogs as needed. We have the highest rate of dog ownership in the world at 39%, with
France next at 25%, UK at 18%, and Germany at 13%. If current trends in breeding
continue, pet ownership has only one way to go: DOWN. We need to point this out to
the public so they see where trends are leading. We must promote AKC at every
opportunity. To do this we must tell the positive story of responsible dog ownership,
good breeding practices, health testing, health research and improvements, CHIC, and
CAR. A negative focus led by the AR movement and fueled by the media is leading us
to a world with no more pets. Only those armed with knowledge can stop this trend.


Anyone else find this information surprising?!? I would love to see the census talked about here. This seems so completely opposite from what we are taught from various sources. Confusing