51 weeks in prison and £20,000 for dog tail dockers
26 April 2007
NEW regulations introduced this month by the Government have banned the docking of dogs’ tails and made it punishable with a £20,000 fine and a prison sentence.
It is part of The Animal Welfare Bill 2006, which updates all of the existing laws governing animal welfare for farmed animals, working animals and household pets.
The practice of tail docking is customary in many dog breeds such as boxers, but for many of the 80,000 puppies that have their tails docked in the UK each year, it is purely for cosmetic reasons. The only exceptions to the ban are working dogs in the armed forces or emergency services for safety reasons.
The ban has faced much opposition from rural communities where the procedure of removing a dog’s tail has been common for many years but the British Veterinary Association says 90 per cent of vets are against docking because it is a painful procedure which should only be carried out for medical reasons.
Jane Booker, a partner at Preston-based law firm MWR Solicitors, said: “The updating of the animal welfare legislation has been long overdue with some of the existing regulations dating back to 1911.
“The Bill is based on five basic freedoms for animals: a suitable living environment, a correct diet, a need to be able to exhibit normal behaviour patterns, any need to be housed with, or apart from, other animals and a need to be protected from pain, suffering, injury and disease.
“Tail docking is classed as mutilating an animal under the new regulations and anyone found causing unnecessary suffering to an animal will be hit hard by authorities.”
