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Crufts viewers have taken to social media to slam the event after a ‘poor old dog’ was seen competing with judges failing to intervene.
The prestigious dog show took place at the weekend at Birmingham’s National Exhibition Centre, with thousands flocking from all over the world to compete with their canines.
However, angry viewers branded the competition as ‘horrendous’ and ‘horrifying’ after a clip posted to X (formerly Twitter) by Jemima Harrison showed an elderly Irish Setter dog apparently struggling as it was pulled around on it green carpet by the owner.
Alongside the video, which has already been viewed by more than 127,000 people, she angrily wrote: ‘When you’re so hooked on dog shows you drag your old lame dog to @Crufts’.
A clip posted by X (formerly Twitter) user Jemima Harrison shows a particularly old dog struggling as it is dragged around the green carpet by its owner
The sad footage shows the elderly Irish setter struggling to keep up with its owner as it was led around in front of onlookers.
As the video quickly gained multiple views, social media users expressed outrage at what they had seen.
One shocked user wrote: ‘How has this poor dog been approved as acceptable for #Crufts? Human vanity, ego and ambition over animal welfare. Poor dog.’
Another fumed: ‘Crufts should be abolished. Why are you encouraging people to breed dogs to aesthetic “standards” that are detrimental to their health?
‘Tell me you don’t care about animals without telling me you don’t care about animals.’
Meanwhile, a third chimed in: ‘I can’t approve this! The poor dog exposed to all that human vanity.’
A fourth added: ‘Phew that’s awful. That puppy needs to rest, warm and at home in comfort, not be dragged around with their mobility issues and how much discomfort they are very clearly experiencing.
‘Owner should be ashamed. It was for her. Not her dog’.
The sad footage shows the elderly Irish setter struggling to keep up with his owner as he is led around in front of onlookers
As the video quickly gained multiple views, social media users expressed outrage at what they had seen
Outraged, others said: ‘Crufts summed up in one short video’ and ‘It’s terrible. The referee should have told the owner to leave the ring.’
Another agreed: ‘It’s painful to watch. Not as painful as it must be for the poor old dog. It’s so lame I can’t even begin to figure out where the problem is.’
Another reasoned: ‘It might be a veteran class but it’s terrible’, while another added: ‘It’s just not acceptable!’
One owner said: ‘As a former owner of two Irish Setters over the years, it’s sad to see this seems cruel and unnecessary. An older dog needs to rest and be pampered, shame on the owner and the judges.
Another added: ‘He should be curled up in front of a nice warm fire, poor baby.’
A Crufts spokesman said: ‘The welfare of the dogs at Crufts is of paramount importance. Our rules and regulations make it clear that no owner should knowingly put their dog’s welfare at risk and we are investigating this as a priority.’
The backlash comes just after protesters got into a scuffle with security guards after they stormed the Crufts dog show on Sunday and were dragged out of the event.
A video shows the violent struggle as a small group of about five protesters – confirmed to be PETA activists – tried to enter the exhibition grounds at the dog show.
Security guards struggled and pulled the activists – but one managed to enter the center square with what appeared to be placards.
Shocking footage shows the violent fight moving into the seating area as a man tried to force a woman to let go of a barrier as she resisted being moved, with shouts of “get out” and jeers heard in the background from the crowd.