Some Pet Hospitals Ban Tail Docking, Ear Cropping
Tuesday, August 4, 2009 USA Today recently reported that one of the country’s largest network of animal hospitals—Banfield, the Pet Hospital, which has more than 730 hospitals nationwide—will no longer crop dog’s ears and tails, nor will they devocalize dogs. The controversial practices were also recently opposed by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA).
Boxers often have their tails docked and their ears cropped.
Tail docking, a cosmetic procedure which involves a veterinarian lopping off part of a dog’s tail when they are a few days old, has long been supported by the American Kennel Club. (Ear cropping generally happens at about 12 weeks.) According to the USA Today article: “the AKC says that ‘as prescribed in certain breed standards, (they) are acceptable practices integral to defining and preserving breed character, enhancing good health and preventing injuries,’ and that ‘any inference that these procedures are cosmetic and unnecessary is a severe mischaracterization that connotes a lack of respect and knowledge of history and the function of purebred dogs.’”
Devocalization is more rare and entails the full or partial removal of a dog’s vocal chords to prevent it from barking.
Where do you guys stand on these procedures? Do you think they’re cruel and unnecessary, a way to maintain breed standards and integrity, or something else entirely?
Reader Comments (1)
I fail to understand how an operation that alters the natural physical characteristics of a non-physically deformed dog can be "necessary" for good health or to prevent injuries. If boxers and similar breeds are - in their natural state - born with long tails or long ears, then I don't believe that a surgery that was created by humans for an aesthetic purpose can be "integral" to the dogs - it certainly is not integral to their health or happiness. As for pure bred standards, why in the world would we cling to the notion that a "pure bred" dog needs to have part of its body chopped off in order to be recognized for its breed? A "breed" should refer to the characteristics of an animal based on its genetics, not on how humans alter the dog's physical look.