RSPCA pulls out of Crufts dog show

LONDON, Sept. 15 (UPI) -- Britain's Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has decided not to participate in the world-renowned Crufts dog show.

The RSPCA says it won't have its usual booth at the Crufts as an attempt to call attention to the high rate of inherited genetic disease among pedigree dogs, The Times of London reported Monday.

The move follows a BBC program that compared the emphasis on breed purity endorsed by Crufts to Nazism.

The program showed a prize-winning Cavalier King Charles spaniel suffering from a condition that occurs when a dog's skull is too small for its brain.

"Dog shows using current breed standards as the main judging criteria actively encourage both the intentional breeding of deformed and disabled dogs and the inbreeding of closely related animals," Mark Evans, RSPCA's chief veterinary adviser, told the Times.

Crufts had its first show in 1891.