EFEITOS DA SELEÇÃO ARTIFICIAL NO BEM-ESTAR CANINO

Abstract

The process of domestication of dogs revealed to humans incredible characteristics related to the work that these animals were able to perform. From that point on, the canine breeds were developed according to the functions to which they were destined, giving rise to guard dogs, hunting, herding, sledding and sniffer dogs. The advancement of technology has made the work of dogs unnecessary, and with the strengthening of the emotional ties between man and dog, these animals no longer turn to work to play the role of companion. The research sought to review how artificial selection in dogs based on human needs can interfere with the quality of life of animals, contrary to the principles of the concept of animal welfare. Over the years, living beings have gone through an evolutionary process known as natural selection, where individuals adapted to the adversities of nature perpetuated their genes, while those who did not adapt, ceased to generate descendants and their species or variety was extinct. The domestication process is an event where there is human interference in the evolutionary process, and the reproduction of domesticated animals is carried out artificially. Most of the breeds we know today, meet aesthetic standards; and the artificial selection carried out in recent years was limited to this end, ignoring the natural morphology of the animal, which culminated in the emergence of genetic diseases that affect its quality of life. The main nonconformities are related to the malformation of the physiological and morphological structure of dogs, generated by inbreeding, which irresponsibly carried out compromise future generations, leading to the occurrence of harmful changes. When evaluating this situation, it is clear that some common pathologies in clinical and veterinary surgery could be avoided if artificial selection took into account animal welfare over aesthetics, which matters little to the domestic animal. The solution would be a reformulation in the selection of parents, recommending characteristics compatible with the morphology closest to the “natural” of the canine species, that is, one that does not limit them and does not induce the appearance of diseases.