Is This the End of the British Bulldog?

The British Bulldog Breed Council chairman, Robin Searle, told The London Times that the council may take legal action against the Kennel Club. He said, "What you'll get is a completely different dog, not a British bulldog." Calls from ABC News to the British Bulldog Breed Council were not immediately returned.

A British bulldog, mascot of men's fashion house Alfred Dunhill is displayed in front of newly...

A British bulldog, mascot of men's fashion house Alfred Dunhill is displayed in front of newly opened flagship shop at Tokyo's Ginza fashion district. The canines will never be the same again, thanks to new breeding guidelines set by the British Kennel Club. The Kennel Club has decided that the time has come for the British bulldog to swap its familiar jowls, large head and loose skin along its legs for a shrunken face, a sunken nose and a leaner body with longer legs.

(Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Getty Images)

The reason for all the furor has to do with the British bulldog's unique place in British culture.

The bulldog's precise origins are unclear, but it is believed that it is a crossbreed between the mastiff and the pug. The bulldog was first used during the 1600's in bullbaiting, a form of dogfighting, when trained bulldogs would jump at a bull tied to a post, grab on to its snout and try to suffocate it.

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This dangerous sport was finally outlawed in 1835, but the bulldog endured as a spirit of British resilience, especially after the Second World War. Indeed, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill reportedly told a Nazi envoy, "Do you know why the English Bulldog has a jutting chin and sloping face? So he can breathe without letting go."

But now, under these new guidelines, the British bulldog might well become an icon of the past, along with dozens of other breeds, such as Labradors, Clumber Spaniels, Pekingese, bloodhounds, German shepherd hounds, basset hounds, and mastiffs.

Breeders who disagree with the Kennel Club can lodge their objections up until the end of June.

Marc Abraham, Veterinary Advisor at the Kennel Club said that these proposed changes to breeding practices "will leave breeders and judges in no doubt about their responsibilities to safeguard the health and welfare of dogs, first and foremost."