Call for ban on dogs' tails 'docking'

Vets and animal welfare groups have called on the government to ban the practice of ocking of dogs' tails for cosmetic purposes.

Ahead of a parliamentary debate on the Animal Welfare Bill, the procedure has been criticised as painful, unnecessary and unethical by the RSPCA, the British Veterinary Association, and the British Small Animal Veterinary Association.

The RSPCA said that docking involves cutting a dog's tail and is usually performed without anaesthetic when pups are between three and five days old.

Jack Russells, boxers and Rottweilers are among those breeds, which are traditionally docked.

Those in favour of the procedure argue that it is carried out to prevent tail damage in working dogs. However, the RSPCA said that the practice had now become standard in certain breeds, regardless of whether the individual puppy becomes a pet or ever actually works.

The RSPCA said that a recent MORI poll suggested that just 8% of British people supported tail docking, while 75% were opposed to the practice.

The BVA, BSAVA and the RSPCA are calling on the government to ensure that tail docking is only allowed for therapeutic reasons, such as when a vet deems it necessary, for example, after a traffic accident.

RSPCA head of external affairs, David Bowles, said: "While cosmetic docking remains legal, so does the unhealthy but sanctioned view that some pedigree dogs will fetch a better price without their tail.

"Disreputable breeders, unqualified and without compassion, will therefore continue to dock their puppies illegally - often causing death or intense suffering.

"The Animal Welfare Bill provides the perfect vehicle through which parliament can finally act upon sound advice from the veterinary profession and animal welfare organisation and ban the brutal and outmoded practice of amputating a dog's tail for fashion.

"Gradually breeders' notions of canine beauty will then evolve to recognise that a perfect dog is one with its tail - as nature intended."

(KMcA)