Sukie writes:
>Of course, a large number of breeders still breed for blazes or
>panda heads despite known related health problems which are incredibly
>well documented. ...  Why does it happen?  Because there are those
>purchasers who put appearances before health and longevity and those
>people are all over the place so there are breeding facilities of all
>sizes which accommodate their demands.  How can it be changed?  By having
>more and more of the customers not put looks first.
 
It is not only the customer who is putting looks first, but many breeders
of all sizes (not just the big farms) and also the show sanctioning
organizations who have specialty classes just for blazes, pandas and
dark-eyed whites.
 
Several months ago this discussion came up, and I posted a challenge to
show sanctioning organizations to come up with ideas for how to discourage
breeding for these traits without necessarily disqualifying those that had
them.  I heard not one word from any group.
 
Linda Iroff
Oberlin OH
[Posted in FML issue 3474]