Why incest isn't best
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Why incest isn't best
An interesting genetics article.
Originally published in USASA Journal, Nov/Dec 2002 by C.A. Sharp
Incest, the marriage of close relatives, is forbidden on moral and legal grounds in most human societies. But the prohibitions also make biological sense. Inbred individuals tend to suffer from inbreeding depression. Among humans, the ancient Egyptian pharaohs and the more recent Hawaiian and European royal families provide the better known human examples. Inbreeding depression has not been studied much in dogs but it is well researched in other species.
Many dog breeders know very little about inbreeding depression. Purebred dogs, including the Australian Shepherd, are commonly bred to related individuals and occasionally bred to relatives close enough that among humans such a match would be considered incest. These are dogs, not people, so the moral issues are not the same. However, we ignore the biological impacts of the practice at our peril
Originally published in USASA Journal, Nov/Dec 2002 by C.A. Sharp
Incest, the marriage of close relatives, is forbidden on moral and legal grounds in most human societies. But the prohibitions also make biological sense. Inbred individuals tend to suffer from inbreeding depression. Among humans, the ancient Egyptian pharaohs and the more recent Hawaiian and European royal families provide the better known human examples. Inbreeding depression has not been studied much in dogs but it is well researched in other species.
Many dog breeders know very little about inbreeding depression. Purebred dogs, including the Australian Shepherd, are commonly bred to related individuals and occasionally bred to relatives close enough that among humans such a match would be considered incest. These are dogs, not people, so the moral issues are not the same. However, we ignore the biological impacts of the practice at our peril
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From: Brazoria
yeah tell us something we dont know...
speaking of inbred dogs...
at texas a&m we've got a collie, Reveille, who is soo pure bred the dog is almost bat shit insane. Seriously, each generation seems to get a little worse. The last reveille we had jumped off of the roof, and this one goes crazy at the damn trumpets in the aggie band.
speaking of inbred dogs...
at texas a&m we've got a collie, Reveille, who is soo pure bred the dog is almost bat shit insane. Seriously, each generation seems to get a little worse. The last reveille we had jumped off of the roof, and this one goes crazy at the damn trumpets in the aggie band.