A simple principle sits at the heart of England’s dog-breeding rules: no dog should be bred if doing so risks its health or that of its offspring. In practice, that principle isn’t being enforced.  

Extreme physical traits - from flat faces to excessive skin folds and distorted skulls - have become fashionable, fuelling poor animal health, higher vet bills and distress for owners while piling pressure on veterinary teams. 

Frontier’s recent pro bono report for the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Animal Welfare (APGAW) sets out the potential costs and benefit channels of a practical fix: the Innate Health Assessment tool, or ‘IHA’.

Tooling up for better dog health 

Developed by Professor Dan O’Neill and the Royal Veterinary College, APGAW’s IHA tool is a straightforward visual check of ten conformation criteria linked to known health risks (e.g. restricted airways, eye and skin problems). It sets a clear operational threshold: if a dog records more than two of these non-compliant features, it must not be used for breeding. 

Pilots show the tool is easy to use and delivers consistent results across different users – providing a standard that England’s licensing regime needs but is currently lacking. Importantly, it enforces what the law already states and aligns with the trend in other countries to move towards “innate health” as a precondition for breeding (for example, Netherlands and Denmark). Under the proposed change, Local Authorities would check IHA assessments as part of routine licensing. 

The economics: setting the ground for an impact assessment 

Before investing into a policy change, Governments need to weigh up the costs and benefits of their interventions. APGAW asked us to make a preliminary, rapid assessment at what mandatory use of the IHA in the future might look like in terms of outcomes and impacts. The question: can a simple, visual health check for breeding dogs in England generate real value for owners, vets and society, with societal benefits exceeding costs?  

We find that mandating the IHA for licensed breeders in England has the potential to deliver a positive Net Present Social Value of £2.1m. Our appraisal maps out the main cost channels, identifies the broad range of potential benefits, and – by quantifying only a subset using the available evidence – shows that even on a deliberately conservative basis, the balance of costs and benefits remains positive. 

In layman’s terms, mandating the IHA safeguards the health of dogs, and is better for the nation’s back pocket. 

How some of the economic benefits add up 

Unmodelled but potentially significant benefits 

Some important benefits were not yet quantified but could be explored further in a full Regulatory Impact Assessment, including: 

Frontier provided this work pro bono for the APGAW, as part of our commitment to using our expertise with charities and the voluntary sector to create positive social impact. 

Read our full report about the IHA now and discover a better future for dog health.