PETA urges King Charles III to distance himself from dog breed

PETA President Ingrid Newkirk has sent a letter to Buckingham Palace urging King Charles III to distance himself from the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel breed. The animal rights organization argues that decades of breeding for specific aesthetic traits—such as large eyes, rounded heads, and shortened snouts—have caused severe health issues in the dogs.

According to PETA, these physical characteristics make the breed susceptible to painful and debilitating conditions, including mobility limitations, paralysis, and syringomyelia, a neurological condition where the skull is too small for the brain. Newkirk described the cost of breeding for beauty over health as ‘terrible.’

The organization is calling on the King to publicly clarify that the monarchy does not support the continued breeding of the breed. PETA expressed concern that the historical connection to the British monarchy provides the breed with prestige that may drive demand despite these health risks.