「世界最高齢の犬」に疑惑 ギネス、記録を一時停止

【リスボンＡＦＰ＝時事】昨年２月に世界最高齢の犬として認定され、１０月に死んだ「ボビ」について、認定者のギネス・ワールド・レコーズが１６日、その信ぴょう性に疑いがあるとして、記録を一時停止した。（写真は、ギネス・ワールド・レコーズによって世界最高齢の犬に認定された「ボビ」。３０歳当時の写真。ポルトガル・レイリア近郊の村コケイロスで）
　ボビは、ポルトガル・レイリア近郊の村コケイロスで飼い主のレオネル・コスタさんと一緒に暮らしていた。昨年、３１歳と１６５日で死んだとされていた。「ラフェイロ・ド・アレンティジョ」というポルトガル原産の牧畜犬の純血種で、寿命は通常１２～１４歳。
　ギネス・ワールド・レコーズの広報はＡＦＰに「まだ調査が行われている最中だが、（ボビの）『存命の世界最高齢の犬』および『史上最高齢の犬』の記録を一時停止する。調査結果が出るまでの措置だ」と述べた。
　公式ＨＰには、疑いについての詳細は掲載されていない。
　だが、英米のメディアは、ボビの足の毛の色が、子犬だった頃の写真と違うように見えると指摘する声を伝えている。
　また、ポルトガルの首都リスボンの獣医師は昨年、ボビについて「動作に問題はないし、筋肉の状態を見ても、高齢犬のようには見えない」とＡＦＰに述べていた。
　記録が一時停止されたのを受け、飼い主のレオネル・コスタさんは「疑いには根拠がない」と反論。背景には「獣医師会の一部のエリート」が関与しているはずだとし、ドッグフードではなく常に「自然の食べ物」を与えていたことが受け入れられないのだろうと指摘した。
　コスタさんによると、ボビはリードにつながれたことがなく、若いころは村外れの森を走り回っていた。高齢になってからは、庭で飼い猫とゆっくり過ごす日々を送っていたという。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2024/01/17-16:15）

Bobi the Dog's title as the world's oldest canine was suspended on Tuesday after Guinness World Records officials began to have doubts about his real age.
He died in October at the official age of 31 years and 165 days, eight months after the record-breakers' hall of fame declared on its website that he was the world's oldest living dog.
The purebred Rafeiro -- a Portuguese race of livestock guard dog whose life expectancy is usually 12 to 14 years -- was also declared the oldest dog ever, breaking a nearly century-old record held by an Australian cattle dog named Bluey, who died in 1939 aged 29 years and five months.
While our review is ongoing we have decided to temporarily pause both the record titles for Oldest Dog Living and (Oldest Dog) Ever just until all of our findings are in place, a Guinness spokesman told AFP.
The reference site for extreme achievements did not say what had raised their suspicions.
But sceptics cited by British and US media said Bobi's feet appeared to be a different colour in photos of him as a puppy and snaps of him in his dotage.
And Miguel Figuereido, a veterinarian in Lisbon, told AFP last year: He doesn't look like a very old dog... with mobility problems... or with an old dog's muscle mass.
Guinness World Records insisted the suspension was temporary, while (the review) is ongoing.
Bobi's owner, Leonel Costa, insisted that all the suspicions are unfounded.
In a statement sent to AFP, he said that the certification procedure took almost a year and that he had complied with all the requirements demanded by Guinness.
Costa accused a certain elite in the veterinary world of being behind these suspicions, because they had difficulty accepting that Bobi had always fed on a natural diet instead of dog food.
Bobi, who was officially born on May 11, 1992, cheated death in his first days of life.
He and three other puppies were from a litter born in a woodshed owned by the Costa family in the village of Conqueiros in central Portugal.
Because the family already owned so many animals, the parents decided to get rid of the newborn puppies.
They unwittingly left one puppy -- Bobi -- behind and were eventually persuaded by Leonel Costa and his sister to keep him.
Costa has attributed Bobi's longevity to the tranquility of country living and his varied diet.
He was never chained up or put on a lead, and used to roam the woods around the village before he got too old to move much and spent his days lolling around the yard with the family cats, he said.