Facts on the IHA breeding tool

There has been misinformation spread about the IHA. This addresses some of the key misinformation point:

1. The IHA will not ban breeds 

We are not banning any breeds, quite the opposite, we are seeking to make breeds sustainable and healthier.  The IHA is an alternative to breed bans by promoting breeding for more moderate traits.

• 67 breeds will not fail the IHA and become extinct.

The vast majority of breeds would pass from this list of 67, indeed 90% would pass and the other 10% can be bred more moderately to pass.  No breeds will become extinct. 

• The IHA is not too blunt a tool.

The IHA was purposely made to be simple and straightforward to use with a binary black and white approach. Making it too nuanced and complex becomes too tricky to apply on a mainstream basis and confuses the public. Beneath the IHA is decades of clinical evidence and complex analysis. 

• The IHA was not developed without breeder’s input.

Breeders were involved as was the Royal Kennel Club. We are due to meet a working group of breeders in April with the RKC and the IHA will be continually reviewed and potentially amended if the evidence requires it. Breeders are perfectly welcome to feed views in.

• The IHA is not anti-breeder

This is not the case, the IHA was created to avoid a breed ban and support breeders in moving away from extreme traits in their breed. We are doing wider work to support the small-scale home breeders by ensuring regulation does not act as a burden and flagging to the public they are the right people from which to seek a puppy. We genuinely want to work with breeders. 

• What about health and temperament testing?

 The IHA is the starting point for basic innate health.  Health screening and temperament testing are also important and come once you have that health foundation. The IHA is not a substitute for any health testing and is complementary to everything else. We have been clear the IHA does not detect underlying health conditions. 

• We are not aiming to harm small ethical breeder who are doing the right thing

 If they are ethical, they are breeding correctly already and have nothing to worry about. The only breeder who needs to be worried are those perpetuating extreme conformations. 75% of puppies are bred outside to the RKC and could come from puppy farms, illegal imports and other unethical sources and we need to help the public identify these low welfare breeders. 

• What about the RKC Nose to Tail tool?

We welcome any initiative to address extreme conformation and see the IHA as just one tool in a potential toolbox of other solutions. All ideas and solutions should be considered.