No idea why, despite following Emma, I only ever saw her magnificent threads second hand after someone else has quoted them so here I am doing my bit to spread the good word!
08.03.2026 14:25
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No idea why, despite following Emma, I only ever saw her magnificent threads second hand after someone else has quoted them so here I am doing my bit to spread the good word!
Agreed. Because they used to run pieces about how this stuff was bad.
Now someone’s tackling it, it’s an affront!
bsky.app/profile/monk...
Another piece of Daily Mail fiction is thoroughly debunked by Emma @monkemma.bsky.social. The RW press in the UK has stopped even pretending to report actual news, it just makes stuff up these days.
monkdebunks.substack.com/p/no-britain...
The usual from Emma - spot on. Many thanks for cheering up a gloomy Sunday!
@monkemma.bsky.social Emma, the debunk queen, does it again, especially when the original story gets twisted near the end. Some islamophobes just can't help themselves...
“The Far-Right are like Pavlov's dogs whenever they see the word Dog and any suggestion of any restrictions. Story about dogs = shout about Muslims”
For more details and all the links please go to:
open.substack.com/pub/monkdeb...
Thank you to everyone who supported me through this first year on Substack!
And if you've bought me a coffee or paid for a subscription, you're amazing!😘 buymeacoffee.com/MonkDebunks
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A voluntary scheme designed to breed healthier dogs somehow became a story about banning your pets.
And then immediately morphed into a conspiracy about Muslims...
And yes, John Cleese fell for it 🙄
And that says far more about the Right and Far-Right media ecosystem than it does about dogs
So that was my second debunk!
The non-ban of 67 dog breeds is not down to Muslims!
The Far-Right are like Pavlov's dogs (obviously not cute like this one!) whenever they see the word Dog and any suggestion of any restrictions
Story about dogs = shout about Muslims
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I have covered this subject previously: open.substack.com/pub/monkdeb...
and on the Bear and Monk Debunk podcast: open.substack.com/pub/monkdeb...
And in numerous threads (search my account for "dog" & "Muslim"!)
There has not been a single credible case of "Muslims banning dogs"
Not one.
🙄 And on Twitter?
Yup, some of the biggest disinformation campaigns immediately went for "It's the Muslims"
FFS 🤦♀️
No, not only are 67 dog breeds NOT being banned, the imaginary ban is not because of Muslims!!
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Some comments from the Daily Mail comments section: Another anti British retoric, can we ban useless governments? Muslims don't like your dogs, because they're haram, UK protect your dogs - stand up! Ban illegal immigrants first! No! This is all about appeasing a protected class who are offended by dogs. So, no, dogs are not the issue and should not be banned. However if they're so inclined to ban any group - I know where they should start! Starmer wants to please his Muslim brothers. The most anti British MP in history!
Is it just clickbait?
A British "You can't tell us what to do" mentality?
Or something more sinister?
Because guess what the comments section looked like...?
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Daily Mail headline: Want a healthy dog? Vets reveal the 10 extreme body conformations owners should AVOID including flat-faces, sloped backs and short legs - so, does your pooch have any?
Daily Mail headline: What your pedigree dog breed looked like centuries ago: Dachshunds, bulldogs and basset hounds have been cruelly overbred to have floppier ears and tiny legs - as vets warn obsession with flat-faces has left pugs enduring a 'lifetime of suffering'
What is particularly odd about the Daily Mail is that much of my research into extreme conformations in dog breeds started with their previous articles!
They used to pro healthy dog breeding
But now the government is looking to tackle the problem, it's suddenly all "ban your pooch"🙄
Ian Seath, Chairman of the Royal Kennel Club said: “We are disappointed to see the misinformation being shared around the potential impact of the IHA on the future of pedigree breeds. We continue to work very closely with APGAW, the IHA team and our breeder community. “This includes a meeting next month where we will bring together representatives from the breeding community and the IHA team to discuss potential evolution of the current IHA criteria which we believe may benefit from some adaptation. This will be for the very small number of breeds where this may be productive. Ultimately, both APGAW and the RKC agree that we all want healthy body shapes for our dogs and there is great strength in working together and listening to each other to effect meaningful change.”
The Chair of the Kennel Club also put out a statement👇, almost all of which was quoted in The Times and the Daily Mail articles
The part they both left out was:
"We are disappointed to see the misinformation being shared around the potential impact of the IHA on the future of pedigree breeds."
🤷♀️
Screenshot of the Times headline above an image of a young Queen Elizabeth II with a corgi Queen Elizabeth's favourite dog in danger of being banned Critics say guidelines aimed at protecting animal welfare will outlaw corgis along with 66 other popular breeds — is yours on the list?
Quote from the APGAW: The suggestion that the Innate Health Assessment (IHA) could lead to beloved breeds such as corgis becoming “banned” is misleading and irresponsible. The IHA is a voluntary welfare tool designed to encourage breeding from dogs with healthy conformations. It does not target particular breeds and is not intended to make any breed extinct, quite the opposite as it is about making those breeds healthier and sustainable by moving them towards good innate health. Indeed, many breeds cited as at risk- including corgis and dachshunds – have already passed the assessment in practice.
So why the disingenuous reporting?
Despite including the quote from the APAW explicitly stating that not only were breeds NOT going to be banned, but that Corgis already PASS the assessment, they still ran with this headline🤷♀️
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Remember:
Pugs, bulldogs and dachshunds existed long before these exaggerated features were bred into them
They didn’t develop these features naturally
So breeding these features back out does not mean these breeds are being banned!
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At present, this is voluntary, and dogs will pass the assessment if they have two or fewer of these extreme features.
The aim is that by 2030, dogs will only be used for breeding if they have only one of these features, and by 2035, breeding dogs will exhibit none of these extreme features
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The image showcases four pairs of dogs illustrating distinct health assessment criteria, focusing on muzzle length, flexibility, skin folds, and eyelid position.
Enter the Innate Health Assessment Tool...
It is a simple tool that looks at ten visible features and allows breeders and assessors to determine which dogs make for healthy breeding pairs, as we look to reduce the more extreme features.
Here are four of the ten with explanations👇
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Three rows display different breeds of dogs: bulldogs, French bulldogs, and pugs, each with differing conformations
In fact, in one recent study, people were shown to prefer the less extreme versions of three different dog breeds over the most extreme.
Same breeds, different conformations 👇
9/
These extreme confirmations didn't occur naturally
Humans created them...
And now there's an effort to encourage dog breeders to breed dogs with less extreme physical features, to tackle the myriad health problems and costs associated with these extreme conformations
8/
Historic and modern dog breeds displayed side by side, highlighting breed changes over 100 years of selective breeding.
And in the last hundred years, these breeds have developed more and more extreme features as humans BRED those features into them by mating dogs with the most extreme features.
This inbreeding for features we find desirable has led to significant health problems in many breeds
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Why is it needed?
Humans have been breeding dogs to look certain ways for centuries
It used to be about optimising them to do certain jobs, but nowadays it's more about optimising them for features humans consider cute or desirable
These extreme features don't benefit the dogs...
6/
IHA The Purpose APGAW has developed an Innate Health Assessment tool that allows every dog kept for breeding to be rapidly and reliably scored by the breeder for the presence of 10 innate health 'extreme conformation' criteria. The APGAW IHA is underpinned by a large volume of clinical evidence generated by the Royal Veterinary College over the past 15 years.
Various logos of organizations endorsing an innate health assessment tool, emphasizing support for animal welfare and care.
They have developed an innate health assessment tool (IHA) to make sure dogs used for breeding are healthy and not exhibiting extreme and often harmful physical features.
The tool is endorsed and supported by pretty much every animal organisation you can think of - including the Kennel Club!
5/
APGAW website screenshot: A fox is featured prominently, representing efforts to influence animal welfare policies through expert and political advocacy.
From APGAW website: Key Work The key issues which the Group is working on are as follows: • The need for effective enforcement of animal welfare legislation- • Humane slaughter, higher welfare standards for farmed animals, meat labelling and non-stun slaughter. • Animal Welfare Education both on food production and pet welfare. • Dog breeding welfare and tackling extreme conformation • Reducing the use of animals in science, with a focus on ending second species testing and severe suffering.
Extreme Conformation is now widely accepted as one of the most pressing health and welfare issues of companion dogs worldwide. "Extreme conformation in dogs describes a physical appearance that has been so significantly altered by humankind away from the ancestral natural canine appearance that affected dogs commonly suffer from poor health and welfare, with negative impacts on their quality and quantity of life' International Collaborative on Extreme Conformation in Dogs. It has been stated that over 25% of dogs in the UK show at least one form of extreme conformation.
So let's look at the reality of what's going on...
The APGAW has developed a tool to try to tackle the problem of extreme confirmation in dogs.
"Extreme Conformation is now widely accepted as one of the most pressing health and welfare issues of companion dogs worldwide"
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And here it is.
The breeds that Kennel Club members FEAR are at risk*
And the asterisk?
*List being shared among members...
So not an official list of breeds, just a speculative one.
There are just two individuals quoted in The Times as 'critics'
3/
Screenshot from the Daily Mail article: Sixty-seven dog breeds could be banned in Britain if new breeding guidelines set by parliament become mandatory, campaigners have warned. The all-party parliamentary group (APPG) for animal welfare has launched a new tool to determine if a dog is healthy.
Screenshot from Daily Mail article: But critics have cautioned the new criteria will see some 67 of the most popular types of dog in the UK automatically dubbed unhealthy, according to The Times.
The article opens with the giveaway that this isn't what's actually happening but is a warning from "campaigners" and "critics"
The Daily Mail points us to the Times to find out where this list of 67 dog breeds that could be banned comes from...
2/
Today we have a double debunk:
1. A debunk of the idea that 67 dog breeds are being banned in Britain
2. A debunk of what the usual suspects are saying online (because they are so tediously predictable!🙄)
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No, Britain Isn’t Banning 67 Dog Breeds
by the magnificent @monkemma.bsky.social
monkdebunks.substack.com/p/no-britain...
#ragebait #digitalliteracy #dailymail #muppetry
I don’t think it would have mattered whatever they wrote - the Mail would find a way to take it out of context
Daily Mail Twitter post: Flying a Union Jack Flag is branded a ‘tool of hate’ in government's leaked social cohesion strategy. Multiple Union Jack and St George’s Cross flags are displayed prominently along a road, amidst greenery and a building in the background.
“A leaked draft of the proposals suggests national symbols were sometimes used last summer to 'exclude or intimidate'.
It warned that the: 'EXTREME RIGHT HAS TRIED TO TURN SYMBOLS OF PRIDE INTO TOOLS OF HATE'”
Okay…
This is the Daily Mail Headline 👇🏼🙄😖
