ANIMAL FORUM

RSPCA: Tail docking of dogs should be banned
Mon, 09 Jan 2006


Docking dogs tails for cosmetic purposes is painful, unnecessary, unethical
and must be outlawed, say Britains foremost veterinary and animal welfare
organisations on the eve of a Parliamentary debate on the Animal Welfare
Bill1.

A new MORI poll also shows that just eight per cent of the British public
supports the docking of dogs tails for cosmetic reasons, while 75 per cent
oppose the practice2.

The British Veterinary Association (BVA), the British Small Animal
Veterinary Association (BSAVA) and the RSPCA are today urging Parliament to
take notice of the public and of those who dedicate their lives to alleviate
animal suffering - and ban this mutilation through the Animal Welfare Bill.

Docking involves cutting or crushing a puppys skin, muscles, up to seven
pairs of nerves, and bone and cartilage - and is performed without
anaesthetic when pups are just three to five days old. At this age they can
feel pain, and research indicates they do so at a greater intensity than
adult dogs because the ability to suppress pain develops with age and
experience.

Currently the law only allows vets to perform this abhorrent amputation.
The irony is that vets are united in their opposition to non-therapeutic
tail docking of dogs, says TV vet Emma Milne, who appeared in the BBCs
Vets in Practice.

Our professions long-held view, and one which is shared by the RSPCA and
the majority of public, is that this unwarranted surgical procedure is
unethical. The law is out of step with considered opinion and must be
changed.

Veterinary associations and animal welfare groups are now urging Parliament
to ensure that the docking of dogs tails is only allowed for therapeutic
reasons (when a vet deems it necessary, for example, after a road traffic
accident).

Those in favour of docking often suggest the procedure is done to prevent
tail damage in working dogs, yet docking has become standard in certain
breeds regardless of whether the individual puppy becomes a pet or ever
actually works.

The traditionally docked breeds appear randomly selected. For example,
German Shepherds, Foxhounds and Bearded Collies are not traditionally
docked, while Jack Russells, Boxers and Rottweilers are. There are even
anomalies within breed groups. For example the tails of Cocker and Springer
spaniels are traditionally docked, and yet Cavalier King Charles spaniels
tails are left entire.

The argument that dogs tails should be docked to prevent future injury,
so-called prophylactic docking, is spurious too. We would not consider
amputating a babys finger to prevent it from future injury, nor removing a
cats tail because it might later get trapped, says Dr Freda Scott-Park,
BVA President. So why perform a painful operation which will deprive a dog
of a form of expression and an aid to balance?

Carmel Mooney, BSAVA President, adds: Pro-dockers often falsely claim that
young puppies cannot feel pain. There are differences between the neonatal
and adult sensory systems - but the lack of coating on nerve fibres mean
that impulses travel more slowly in the young. This does not mean puppies
dont feel, just that they dont feel quite so quickly as adults.

The Governments Animal Welfare Bill, published in October 2005, introduces
an outright ban on mutilations - defined as interference with the sensitive
tissue or bone structures of animals. However, the Secretary of State will
be able to make exemptions, such as for neutering (by a veterinary surgeon
with appropriate anaesthesia) and microchipping.

The RSPCA, BVA, BSAVA and other welfare organisations are now urging
Parliament to ensure that the only exemption extended to the docking of
dogs tails is for therapeutic reasons.

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
suffering3, says David Bowles, RSPCA Head of External Affairs.

The Animal Welfare Bill provides the perfect vehicle through which
Parliament can finally act upon sound advice from the veterinary profession
and animal welfare organisations and ban the brutal and outmoded practice of
amputating a dogs 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.