5 Most Shocking Crufts Moments

Crufts is a spectacle of abuse. Celebrating humans’ breeding of dogs with unnatural features, which commonly result in painful health conditions, is plain cruel – not to mention the event’s creepy obsession with “purity” of bloodlines. Many sinister incidents, including the alleged poisoning of several dogs, have taken place at the pageant, and breeders associated with the event have engaged in horrific cruelty to animals. Yet the show still goes on.

Here’s a round-up of Crufts’ five most shocking moments:

1. Jagger is poisoned and killed.

It's claimed as many as six dogs may have been poisoned at this year's Crufts http://t.co/uAJ0c2smCE pic.twitter.com/kMxZjenkNF

— Sky News (@SkyNews) March 10, 2015

In 2015, a 3-year-old Irish setter named Jagger tragically died from poisoning hours after competing at Crufts. To this day, we don’t know who was responsible or whether the pup was poisoned at the event or after returning home to Belgium. Five other dogs reportedly became sick at Crufts that same year, and poisoning allegations had been made in previous years, too.

2. Crufts winner kills puppies in freezer.

Dog breeder stuffs 8 newborn puppies into freezer to kill them https://t.co/TtauqMhm7f pic.twitter.com/kVnPinGXHq

— I Love Dogs (@theilovedogs) March 4, 2017

Dog breeder Margaret Peacock – who had previously collected awards at Crufts – admitted to putting eight puppies in a freezer to kill them and beating a ninth to death with a tin opener. She reportedly also confessed that the puppies’ parents were brother and sister and that she killed all nine because she suspected they might have “genetic mutations”. Despite her cruel acts, she’s still allowed to breed and keep animals on her property.

3. Knopa is picked up by the tail.

American breeder Rebecca Cross picked up her Scottish terrier, Knopa, by the neck and tail after winning the “Best in Show” award in 2015. Unsurprisingly, this rough handling sparked outrage, as pressure on the neck can close dogs’ airways, causing them to choke, and pulling the tail can result in nerve and muscle damage. Lifting up dogs this way is cruel, painful, and unnecessary – they aren’t dolls.

4. German shepherd with deformities struggles to walk.

Tori, a German shepherd who was bred to have a back so abnormally sloped that it impedes the movement of her hind legs – resulting in what looks like a painful and permanent limp – was crowned “Best of Breed” in 2016. It beggars belief that a dog who can barely drag herself around the judge’s circuit could win any award. But this is far from an isolated occurrence at Crufts – where rewarding humans for inflicting painful and sometimes life-threatening deformities on dogs is the name of the game.

5. Overwhelmed Tinks is ridiculed.

Four-year-old papillon Tinks was laughed at by the audience and ridiculed by commentators during an agility contest. Even though he appeared frightened and overwhelmed by the noisy environment, his handler repeatedly urged him towards the first hurdle.