Shadows of doping, potentially fake pedigrees, dangerous hybridized specimens: behind the purebred dogs of the Enci (Italian national dog breeding body), which organizes dog events and competitions and which holds the monopoly on the issuing of pedigrees in Italy, there are some decidedly disturbing background stories. The new investigation reveals them “ATM dogs”created by the journalist and activist Giulia Innocenzi, which will be broadcast on Reports (Rai 3) the January 5th from 8.30pm.
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At the Insubria winner, the national Italian dog breeding body, the best purebred dogs are decreed. – explains Giulia Innocenzi – To grab the title, the dogs are polished. Behind the sparkle of grooming and shiny fur, however, they are there the shadows of a genetics that pushes some characteristics of races to an extreme.
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Relations with political exponents are also under Report’s magnifying glass, in particular with Michela Vittoria Brambilla, ENCI’s main ally.
“As host of the Mediaset program Dalla parte degli animali, she promotes purebred dogs. – highlights Innocenzi – Thanks to the sponsored partnership with Enci: from 2021 to today the dog breeding organization has spent almost half a million euros on the Brambilla broadcast.”
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The shadow of doping in dog competitions
Dog competitions, which are both “beauty” and based on certain performances for each breed, are essential for having “champions”, specimens whose puppies can be sold for tens of thousands of euros, sometimes hundreds. A real business that appeals to many.
One of the most controversial points is the shadow of doping in races in which purebred dogs participate.
“With revenues of 10 million euros per year, Enci allocates not even 10,000 euros to anti-doping controls, which are done by an internal body” Giulia Innocenzi tells us.
In particular, the investigation tells the story of the dog Pegasus, entrusted by his owner to a trainer to participate in a competition. Once he returned home, the dog was unrecognizable and tests revealed that he had ketamine, a doping substance, in his circulation. The owner raised the issue with ENCI, which however ignored the matter.
The crux of potentially fake pedigrees
But it doesn’t end here. As anticipated, ENCI is the only body that can issue i pedigreei.e. the documents with which a dog can define itself as a breed and which dogs are the offspring of “champions”, but some of those released they could be fake.
“The pedigree is the document issued by Enci which certifies the identity of the dog, and in this function it is supervised by the Ministry of Agriculture. – clarifies Giulia Innocenzi – The case of Nolo Del Zagnis, a champion of European fame, whose pedigree has ended up at the center of a court dispute. Enci sued Fabrizio Bocchino, a breeder who claimed that the champion’s pedigree was false, and therefore also that of his descendants. The Court of Milan acquitted Bocchino because his accusations were based ‘on true facts’.”
The journalist asked the ENCI president about this case and also about the story of another dog, Blaze, whose owner is still waiting to obtain the pedigree (for which she paid 1200 euros for the dog), because from the laboratory analyzes the mother appears “uncertain”. To get to the bottom of things, Lollobrigida also turned to the Minister of Agriculture asking if any measures had been taken following a report delivered to the minister on the pollution of the herd book, where 400 cases of potentially false pedigrees.
Dangerous dogs, does the ENCI really monitor them?
Finally, Report’s investigation sheds light on the issue of dangerous dogs, the result of hybridizations and the responsibilities of the ENCI. You will probably remember that in 2020 in Piedmont a family of Czechoslovakian wolfdogs mauled their elderly owner while they were at home.
Those dogs could be the result of a fraud, because they are not real Czechoslovakian wolves. – underlines Giulia Innocenzi – The first report by Alessio Camatta, a Czechoslovakian wolf breeder, to Enci dates back to 2011, in which he warned against a French line of Czechoslovakian wolf that would have been hybridized with the wild wolf. In 2018 Ispra, the Environment Agency, drew up a study on the issue. Enci only moves after the tragedy has occurred and investigations are underway, and suspends the pedigrees. But Dino Muto, the Enci president, goes on TV to say that pedigrees are a guarantee against dangerous dogs.
