What’s your opinion? Take part to our Great Debate!
In the episode of the BBC programme Mountain Vets that aired on 15 November, a female Bulldog was artificially inseminated with the help of a vet after the male tried and failed to mate with her.
A reader wrote us, “I don’t agree with this procedure: if the dog is not able to naturally make the female pregnant, is it a good idea to produce more puppies that could potentially have the same problem?”
Some agree that vets should object to the procedure and refuse to perform it. Others argue that it wouldn’t be professional to do so, as bad breeding is not necessarily the only reason why natural mating is not an option – for example, in cases where semen comes from dogs abroad to widen the gene pool.
What do you think – should vets refuse to inseminate dogs who cannot mate naturally? Tell us your opinion here, in the Facebook thread below, or write to [email protected]