It seems to me that a good number of breeders only perform health tests in order to gain a "gold star" for their impending litters.

If the result is good then they can highlight it , however if the results are not what they expect they will breed the litter anyway and make an excuse to justify their reasons for doing so.

Or am I just getting cynical in my old age ?

No you are not mark, like any rules and law people will get around them if they can find a loop hole and this is a huge loop hole as at the moment it is only required that you do the tests the results do not seem to matter much. It is one of the things that has been raised by the CA but a knee jerk reaction is not required because each breed has its own problems.

In a large gene pool where the 'problem' is not common it could be brought in immediately but with either low gene numbers or high incidence then care must be taken to ensure the matter improves but not at a speed that will kill off the breed.