Tail docking ban in Scotland, causing animal suffering or preventing it?
Delight As Ban On Tail-Docking In Scotland Confirmed Campaigners Call For Review Of All Other Animal Mutilations
Advocates for Animals has welcomed today’s confirmation that the docking of all dogs’ tails will be banned in Scotland. The Scottish Executive today announced that the ban is to come into force on 30 April 2007.
Advocates has campaigned for an end to tail-docking on the grounds that it is an unnecessary mutilation that causes pain and distress. The animal protection organisation has also called for all other animal mutilations to be reviewed.
THE Scottish Gamekeepers Association (SGA) is putting pressure on the Scottish government to end the ban on the tail docking of working dogs, claiming it is causing unnecessary suffering.
Tail docking was outlawed under the 2006 Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act after consultations with veterinary bodies and the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA).
Animal Welfare Legislation covering the rest of the UK contains an exemption allowing working dogs such as spaniels, retrievers and terriers, to have their tales docked – but not in Scotland.
The SGA claims the ban means that working dogs. which require to work over and under dense cover such as bramble, are now suffering avoidable injury, leading to costly and painful amputations.
It is claimed that many gamekeepers and farmers are being forced to travel across the Border to source docked puppies.
The Scottish Government has now commissioned Glasgow University Veterinary School to conduct research into the frequency and nature of tail injury in working dogs and terriers.
Their figures will be published this summer, with many in the countryside hoping the evidence points to the ban being overturned.
The fact that some working breeds have always been docked for centuries, for good reason, now seems to be being borne out.
About time this was reviewed again.
All for preventing animal cruelty, don't get us wrong, just that docking is markedly less traumatic if done at birth rather than years later following injury/trauma and the obvious post-op care required whilst they re-learn walking/running without a tail (which upsets their balance in many cases).
We dock lamb's tails to avoid infection. There are sensible reasons for it, where a dog is a working animal, prone to damage as part of its 'job'. But if it is purely for aesthetics then no - no animal should be damaged (that's what this is after all) to satisfy a human's idea of what is attractive. If that means having 2 cartegories at Cruft's so be it - boxer-docked, boxer-undocked. Better still, only allow docked animals to be presented in the working dog categories.
It goes hand in hand with stopping the ridiculous over-breeeding of deformities in the name of breed 'purity'. Dogs should be 'dog-shaped'. Exposed inner eye-lids, floppy mouths that can't close and constantly dribble, folds of skin that harbour infections, ears that drag on the floor, joint weakeness or disfunction - they are all deliberately bred for. And, in my opinion of course, a conscious act of cruelty against the poor buggers born like that.
The problem with the exemption for working dogs is unscrupulous breeders and their vets use it as an excuse to dock pets.
if nature wanted certain dogs not to have a tail , then nature would have intervened. i find it a horrid practise in any circumstance to remove a dogs tail.
I'm confused. In a survey of over 300 dog owners, only 17 reported a tail injury sustained outside. Even if we (wrongly IMO) assume all 17 were working dogs, it hardly makes a strong case for allowing tail docking of working dogs.
"Dogs with docked tails significantly less likely to sustain tail injuries says Veterinary Record" - No shit Sherlock. Dogs with no legs less likely to break legs too.
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All UK legislation has now been passed and enacted as follows;
The docking of dogs' tails was banned in England from 6 April 2007 and in Wales from 28 March 2007 but with exemptions from the ban for certain working dogs, and for medical treatment. A total ban in Scotland took effect 30 April 2007
There is also a ban on the showing of docked dogs (all dogs docked after the commencement date of 6 April/28 March) at events to which members of the public are admitted on payment of a fee. However, this ban does not apply to dogs shown for the purpose of demonstrating their working ability.
The exemption for working dogs allows a dog that is likely to perform certain specified types of work to have its tail docked by a veterinary surgeon. The dog will have to be less than 5 days old and the veterinary surgeon will have to certify that he or she has seen specified evidence that the dog is likely to work in specified areas. Puppies being docked must be microchipped, either at the time of docking or when the vet considers they are old enough. The types of dog that are allowed to be docked and the types of evidence needed, is detailed below.
Puppies from certain working dogs may be docked if evidence is provided to the vet that it is likely to be worked in connection with law enforcement, activities of Her Majesty’s Armed Forces, emergency rescue, lawful pest control, or the lawful shooting of animals. It is accepted that in a litter, not all puppies docked will be found suitable for work.
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Maybe the heart of the problem is two-fold. Unscrupulous breeders and uncontrolled breeding. Surely common or garden pet owners should not be allowed to own un-speyed animals? Only a small number of properly licensed breeders should be allowed to even own breedable dogs and cats.
I don't advocate chopping bits off animals for prettiness but I do advocate avoiding surplus animals being bred. There should be a simple rule - no owner-no pet. This isea of 'never put a healthy dog down' is ridiculous when you compare it with management of sheep. Every year there is a 50-50 split of male and female lambs. The vast majority of males are killed (and eaten in most cases I beleive) because they are not needed. Why do we treat animals we have labelled 'pets' any differently?
Same with man moo cows and masculine chooky wookys.
Dogs are vegitarian? More to the point I can't see the relevence to tail docking?
For me, as long as the docking is for the prevention of further problems I have no problem with this, If it is cosmetic i do have a problem.
As already mentioned, sheep have part of there tail docked for there welfare.
Factory farmed pigs have there's docked before the other pigs chew them off.
Some poultry, ducks, and game birds have part of the upper beak removed(De-beaking) This can be a permanent thing or some thing that grows out, depending on how far up the beak the cut is made.
These and many practices still continue all over the world for animal welfare
Foxy is correct, we do have some strange double standards between pets, animals that we eat and our wildlife
the one thing that docking does have in common is the human.
it is the human that determines this disgusting horrid practice. it is purely at the end of the day to the benefit of the human. as i have always thought, all of the problems and actions on this planet that are awful, are the actions of mankind.
There are no good reasons for docking any dogs tail
I totally disagree, my first spaniel had a tail, against my grandfather better judgement, because I felt they looked better with a tail. Sadly once she started working I was proved to be wrong, as she damaged it time after time, until it had to be removed. I felt very guilty for being so pigheaded.
Spaniels are the worst for this kind of damage because of there enthusiasm and tail wagging Technic. Also the kind of cover they work in, plays a major role, and has a major effect. The shoots I currently beat on have woods full of bramble and areas of thick gorse.
Therefore, in my view unless they have a small part of their tails removed, a considerable number of working gun dogs (notably spaniels) will suffer bloody and painful damage to the ends of their undocked tails.
There has been an increase in the numbers of adult gun dogs requiring partial tail amputation in Sweden since docking was banned there.
While the law allows, I will not risk putting a dog of mine through any unnecessary suffering, so will continue to have my working spaniels tails docked.
