GoCougs said:
Nowhere in the COE does it say that white boxers can't be "sold for profit".
Yes, I believe it does. Albeit not in especially clear language! The exact terminology is:
Limited Registration
American Boxer Club Members are encouraged to provide limited registration for the following:
- Boxers being purchased only as registered companion pets.
- Boxers that are not considered sound, or not of breeding quality, including monorchids.
- Boxers of any color not allowed by the standard. Such a Boxer will be placed on a contract, to be signed and a copy retained by all parties, that includes the following provisions:
As far as I'm aware, that is taken to mean that it is unethical to charge any more than the veterinary expenses related to that particular puppy.
That said, I think it's a rather backward way of looking at things. The puppy is part of a litter that cost money to produce - the health testing, the showing, the food, the dam's vet bills, etc. He cost no less to produce than his coloured littermates - and he'll make equally good a pet. So I see no reason why he shouldn't be sold as such.
What is more perhaps relevant as an "ethics" issue is people breeding litters that will produce white puppies. Or at least, when obtaining flash was a significant decisive factor in choosing the particular dogs to be bred (there's no standard in the world that actually asks for flash - most infer that it is more undesirable (with language such as "shouldn't be penalised")). But in doing so, you *know* you're going to produce a significant percentage of whites, and you also know they've a significant risk of being deaf. But that sort of thing has obvious problems - how in the world would you ever prove that was the motivation for the pairing, for a start LOL
Which actually brings the argument full circle. If you want to discourage people from producing whites
deliberately, the best way is probably exactly as the ABC have done it - by preventing their sale for profit or even covering cost...
And with all that said, I'm still not convinced by it. Flash seems to be far more important in the show ring in the US than just about anywhere else - but those "somewhere elses" rarely have rules preventing the sale at full cost of whites. Convention makes them a little cheaper, certainly. But not rules.