‘Pugs’ Wearing Breathing Apparatus to Warn Kochi Residents That Flat-Faced Breeds Suffer for Life 

For Immediate Release:

15 January 2026

Contact:

Apeksha Tamne; [email protected]

Sanskriti Bansore; [email protected]

Kochi – As pugs remain one of the most popular dog breeds in India, supporters of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals India (PETA India) in pug costumes and oxygen masks will gather in Kochi to warn its citizens that foreign brachycephalic dogs (those with a short skull and flat face), such as pugs, struggle to breathe and can even require surgery for serious respiratory problems – and compassionate people should never buy them.

Where:      Rainbow Hanging Bridge on Abdul Kalam Marg, aka Marine Drive, Ernakulam, Kerala 682031
When:       Friday, 16 January, 12 p.m. sharp

“Breeders deliberately breed dogs with deformed faces and airways that shorten their lives and cause a multitude of health problems just to achieve a particular look,” says PETA India Campaigns Coordinator Apeksha Tamane. “PETA India encourages those with the time, patience, love, and resources to welcome a dog into their home to stop buying dogs with debilitating deformities from breeders and pet stores and instead adopt desi dogs, who are known for their loving nature, from an animal shelter.”

Pugs, popularised by Vodafone commercials, and other breathing-impaired breeds (BIB) such as French and English bulldogs, Pekingese, Boston terriers, boxers, Cavalier King Charles spaniels, and shih tzus suffer from an agonising and sometimes fatal condition called brachycephalic syndrome, which causes them to pant, snort, wheeze, and struggle to breathe. It can make chasing a ball, running, playing, and even going for a walk – the things that make dogs’ lives joyful and fulfilling – difficult.

PETA India has urged the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying to amend the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Dog Breeding and Marketing) Rules, 2017, to prohibit the breeding of these animals. In 2024, the Tamil Nadu government took a progressive step by prohibiting the breeding, marketing and sale of certain cold‑weather and brachycephalic dog breeds, including French bulldogs, pugs, Tibetan mastiffs, and Siberian Huskies recognising that these dogs suffer serious health problems in India’s climate.

PETA India warns that most pet shops and breeders operate illegally without registration, often denying dogs proper care, nutrition, exercise, and socialisation, worsening the animal overpopulation crisis.

PETA India – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse” – opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETAIndia.com or follow PETA India on X, Facebook, or Instagram.

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