Ojai in California is the first place in the United States to ban the breeding of pets with extreme physical traits.

Photo by Cindi Drake

Ojai, a city in California, has a history of promoting animal welfare.

A small city in Southern California has become the first place in the United States to ban the breeding of pets with physical characteristics deemed inherently harmful, such as squashed muzzles and excessive skin folds.

Animal welfare advocates hailed the city of Ojai's move as another sign that efforts to ban flat-faced breeds like French bulldogs and pugs are gaining traction globally, following similar bans by a few European countries.

The American Kennel Club (AKC), however, described Ojai's law as "extremist," maintaining that it is "unsubstantiated, uninformed and difficult to enforce."

Located between Los Angeles and Santa Barbara, Ojai has a population of 7,637 people, according to the 2020 census.

The city has a history of promoting animal welfare, having last year become the first in the U.S. to recognize the "bodily liberty" of elephants, effectively banning the animals from being kept in captivity unless held in an accredited sanctuary. There are currently no zoos or elephants in Ojai.

The text of the latest rule — which only pertains to breeding, not ownership — doesn't mention specific pet breeds. Rather, it says animals cannot be reproduced if they have one or more of 19 listed "congenital anatomical features." The list includes having a snout length that is "less than one-third of the animal's head from the top of its skull to the tip of its muzzle."

Other listed features include "abnormal or labored breathing sounds during rest," a body shape that doesn't allow an animal to mate or give birth naturally, excessive skin folds and an "unnatural" posture.

Many of the listed features are common to brachycephalic (flat-faced) animals, indicating that certain breeds have been targeted de facto. The AKC, for instance, in its official breed definition for pugs, states their muzzles must be "short" and "blunt."

Structurally flattened faces are associated with numerous health issues to varying degrees, including difficulty breathing and reproducing, as well as eye, skin and dental problems. The link has been established by numerous studies looking at breeds with flattened faces, some of which are referenced by the Ojai City Council in an administrative report accompanying its new ordinance.

Not all individuals of a given breed necessarily experience health problems, though. And potentially making the ordinance particularly controversial, many flat-faced breeds are desired by pet owners. The French bulldog, for example, has ranked as the most popular dog breed in the U.S. for the past two years.

Corgis, dachshunds also targeted

Ojai's new rule encompasses more than flat-faced animals. Among the 19 features listed in the ordinance is chondrodystrophy, which refers to an abnormal development of cartilage that causes an elongated body and short legs, which potentially may lead to joint and spinal problems.

Although the ordinance doesn't mention specific breeds, the accompanying administrative report identifies many breeds as chondrodystrophic: basset hounds, beagles, dachshunds, corgis and Scottish terriers, among others.

Breeds described as brachycephalic include Boston terriers, boxers, bull mastiffs, cavalier King Charles spaniels, Chinese shar-peis, English bulldogs, French bulldogs and pugs. Brachycephalic cat breeds also are mentioned in the council document  — namely, Persian longhairs, exotic shorthairs, Burmese and Himalayans.

Ojai's breed ban will be enforced by "peace officers, code enforcement officers, and other persons designated by the [city]," the ordinance states.

The new rule was approved 4-1 by council members on Oct. 22, Ojai Mayor Betsy Stix, confirmed to the VIN News Service. She drew parallels to building safety to explain the reasoning behind the ban.

"If an architect submits a design for a new facility to the city, it is reasonable for us to expect that the facility would be designed and built so as to not collapse and cause harm," Stix said. "As a council, we decided that it was more than reasonable to apply that same principle to breeders who are breeding and selling living, feeling beings."

Stix said the rule and accompanying administrative report were drawn up with advice from veterinarians, two of whom gave oral presentations to the council in support of the ban.

Dr. Emma Milne, founder of international advocacy group Vets Against Brachycephalism, produced a video for the council that was shown during a meeting in September. Dr. Teresa Schumacher, an Ojai-based practitioner, appeared in person at a subsequent meeting, on Oct. 22.

Schumacher said she'd recently considered changing careers because the number of animals she'd seen with preventable genetic health issues was "off the charts."

"We all love them. I'm not attacking the dogs. I don't think anyone in this room would say they have anything against the dogs themselves," Schumacher said. "But for me, it's heartbreaking as a veterinarian to see case after case after case of these animals that come in actively suffering with issues that we could have prevented by having some control over the breeding situation."

Still, views on how to deal with the issue vary among among veterinarians. Although some support breed bans, others maintain that some animals of a given breed are healthier than others, and question whether bans realistically can be enforced.

Dr. Heather Burrowes, a dog sports enthusiast in Troy, New York, and owner of a Brussels griffon (a brachycephalic breed), expressed concerns about Ojai's ban when asked by VIN News for her view.

Burrowes contended that well-funded public education campaigns would be more effective than breed bans because demand for the targeted breeds is driven by pet owners rather than breeders. She also fears the language in Ojai's law is too broad, offering the example of a dog with hip dysplasia. "If a Lab or German shepherd breeder produces a dysplastic puppy — which can happen even with the best of care taken on genetics — will that breeder be shut down and forced out of the area?" she said.

Burrowes added: "Conformation is also not the sole determinant of health. There are absolutely sound and healthy chrondrodysplastic and, yes, brachycephalic dogs out there, some even competing at high levels of athletic sports such as agility and herding. A more individual approach, perhaps using veterinarians to evaluate breeding stock, would go much further to increasing overall welfare."

For its part, the AKC reiterated its belief that bans could encourage black market operations with poor breeding practices. "This ordinance ends the ability of responsible city residents to produce certain breeds of dogs and establishes a dangerous precedent for radical legislative proposals around California and the rest of the country," it said in a statement.

In 2019, the Netherlands pledged to enforce legislation banning the breeding of animals with short snouts, prompting the Dutch Kennel Club to end registration of 12 brachycephalic dog breeds, including English bulldogs, French bulldogs, pugs, cavalier King Charles spaniels and Boston terriers. A Norwegian court in 2022 effectively banned the breeding of cavalier King Charles spaniels, which, in addition to having flattened faces, are susceptible to heart disease and syringomyelia, a progressive neurologic condition characterized by pain in the back of the neck. A Norwegian breeding ban on English bulldogs, however, was reversed by an appeals court.