PETA To Protest Westminster Kennel Club Show In Tarrytown

EDITOR'S NOTE: This article has been modified to include a comment from the Westminster Kennel Club.

TARRYTOWN, NY — While dogs and their handlers strut their stuff at the 145th annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show at Lyndhurst, protesters from PETA will be up the road Saturday asking the organization to call off the dog show.

According to a spokeswoman, PETA supporters will be hitting the streets with signs revealing how breeding dogs for appearances, such as the dog show, causes congenital defects, including diabetes, which is common in standard poodles.

PETA Senior Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch said, if people want to celebrate dogs, they should skip the show and adopt one of the millions of lovely, deserving ones awaiting homes while in shelters.

"With its reckless promotion of purpose-bred dogs, Westminster emboldens greedy breeders who exacerbate the national animal homelessness crisis and jeopardize dogs' health," she said.

PETA noted that puppy mills, brokers and auctioneers, as well as pet-store owners, cash in on the demand for pure-bred puppies produced after a Best in Show win.

There are around 70 million dogs and cats without homes in the United States at any given time, a PETA spokeswoman said.

The protest is planned for noon Saturday at the intersection of Broadway and Main Street in Tarrytown.

Gail Miller Bisher, director of communications for The Westminster Kennel Club, told Patch her organization promotes canine health, responsible dog breeding and ownership, as well as the well-being of all dogs.

"Dog shows are competitions to select healthy breeding stock to continue the next generation of sound purebred dogs," she said. "Preservation breeders who attend our show are dedicated to the health and welfare of the purpose-bred dog."

Bisher said the club abides by AKC rules and regulations pertaining to dog shows.

Westminster judges adhere to AKC-approved breed standards when judging dogs at our events, she said.

Westminster officials decided in October to move the dog show to an outdoor location due to the coronavirus pandemic. It chose Lyndhurst, a property of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

In March, the organization decided to limit the number of attendees at events because of state restrictions. Because of that, there will be no spectators in the stands.

The Best in Show competition will be televised, for the first time live, on FOX.

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