The sponsorship is believed to be worth as much as £500,000 a year. Mars, which owns Pedigree, confirmed the move saying it had been taken ‘after careful consideration'.
In August, a BBC documentary alleged that unhealthy, and sometimes inbred, dogs were winning best in breed competitions at the show. The BBC documentary, Pedigree Dogs Exposed, showed a prize-winning Cavalier King Charles spaniel with syringomyelia, a condition that occurs when a dog's skull is too small for its brain.
It also featured boxer dogs suffering from epilepsy, pugs which had breathing problems and bulldogs which were unable to mate or give birth unassisted.
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