[onster]

mmmmmm I find the wording of the article a bit harsh, but I suppose the reality *is* harsh. Also, to be honest, I've seen a documentary before about dog shows and the breeding involved and was horrified at the health conditions of some of these purebreds. Does getting a purebred from an ethical breeder really equate a healthy pet? Not so sure about that, especially when genetic susceptibility to certain diseases goes hand in hand with desirable traits.

I think the argument that the only way to not kill a shelter animal is to adopt, is somewhat along the lines of the only way to help an orphan is to adopt an orphan. If everyone stopped having children (or breeders stopped breeding) and adopted instead (babies/pets) then there wouldn't be a problem. But can you tell people to stop having children? No. Obviously, there's more involved with children (people want to have something of themselves, or their own flesh and blood etc), but the idea is that sometimes the most ideal solution to a problem really isn't practically applicable. I would tackle breeding ops, where there are filthy conditions and animals are treated simply as a commodity, before I tackled the 'reputable breeders' and smaller scale BYBs (who really love their animals, give lots of love and care etc but aren't really helping the cause).