|
Docked
breeds banned from the World Show
DOCKED BREEDS have been banned form taking part in this year’s
World Dog Show by order of the German Courts as part of the ‘animal
rights’ laws passed in Germany last year.
The ruling means that docked dogs from the UK and other countries
where tail docking is not illegal may be entered at the show and
demonstrates yet another example of the German Government’s
arrogance and bias against dogs
The German Kennel Club – VDH instigated a legal challenge
to the ruling which was heard at the Administrative Court in Gelsenkirchen.
The VDH had tried to gain an exceptional ruling to allow foreign
dogs that are legally cropped or docked in accordance with the
laws of their respective countries to participate in the World
Dog Show 2003.
After exhausting all the legal possibilities - including an application
to pass a preliminary order for this year’s show only - and
also including the services of a renowned administrative lawyer,
the VDH’s application was dismissed by the court.
This means that the following regulations will also apply to the
World Dog
Show 2003:
In accordance with the "Tierschutz-Hundeverordnung"
(animal protection dog regulations)effective from the 1st May
2002 dogs living in Germany or outside Germany that meet the following
criteria will be banned from participating at dog shows:
1. Those dogs with ears cropped after the 01/01/1987
2. Those dogs with tails docked after 01/06/1998
(The only exception to this ruling includes docked or cropped
dogs used for hunting in accordance with German law for the protection
of animals).
The ban is not enforced in exceptional cases if a medical condition
necessitating docking is known, but the corresponding veterinary
certification must be enclosed together with the entry.
The ruling is bound to hit entries for the World Dog Show 2003
extremely hard and will no doubt necessitate the FCI thinking
carefully on the choice of host country and venue for the show
in future
Phil Buckley of the Kennel Club commented:"The Kennel Club
is sorry to learn that VDH were unsuccessful with their application
to the Administrative Court in which they tried to gain an exceptional
ruling to allow foreign dogs that are legally cropped or docked
in accordance with the respective country laws to participate
in the World Dog Show. We had in fact written to VDH last September
requesting clarification as to what would happen if UK exhibitors
of Staffords and Bull Terriers attended Germany to exhibit - bearing
in mind the current 'dangerous dog' legislation - but have not
received a response to our enquiry.
Obviously UK exhibitors will not have an issue with ear cropping,
but they certainly will with tail docking, therefore it is unfortunate
that many will not feel in a position to participate."
Ginette Elliott of the Council of Docked Breeds added: "It
appears that politics has finally entered the ring at dog shows!
How can this be classed as a ‘World Show’ when entries
are restricted?
Demean
"This is positive discrimination and, if the dogs entered
are not competing against the "Best in the World", it
will not only demean the show but the winners will have cheap
victories.
"Also, it is highly improbable it could be proven whether
a dog had been born naturally bobbed or had its' tail docked therefore,
one wonders where this leaves the natural bob-tails? Perhaps they
too, will not enter? What a sad day for the hobby of dog showing"
Germany became the first European nation to vote to guarantee
animal rights in its constitution last year.
A majority of lawmakers in the Bundestag voted to add "and
animals" to a clause that obliges the state to respect and
protect the dignity of humans.
The main impact of the measure will be to restrict the use of
animals in experiments.
A total of 543 lawmakers in Germany's lower house of parliament
voted in favour of giving animals constitutional rights. Nineteen
voted against it and 15 abstained.
The vote was approved by the Bundesrat upper house last summer.
Article 20a of the German Basic Law will then read: "The
state takes responsibility for protecting the natural foundations
of life and animals in the interest of future generations."
The issue had been keenly debated among German politicians for
almost 10 years.
Animals in Germany already are protected through legislation defining
the conditions in which they can be held in captivity, but activists
claimed it did not go far enough to control the use of animals
in research.
With the new measure, the federal constitutional court will have
to weigh animals' rights against other entrenched rights, like
those to conduct research or practice religion. This could translate
bring tighter restrictions on the use of animals for testing cosmetics
or non-prescription drugs.
Consumer Affairs Minister Renate Kunast, a member of the environmentalist
Greens party that has lobbied for many years to bring animal rights
into the constitution, welcomed the change as groundbreaking,
but emphasised it would not diminish human rights.
"People remain the most important," Kunast said.
Conservative parliament members had previously opposed the constitutional
changes, arguing that it could put the interests of animals before
those of humans and be particularly damaging to Germany's research
industry.
Animal rights activists say they will use the constitutional changes
to try and end to what they say are unduly long transport routes
for animals.
Lawmakers said the government will also look at targeting more
research funding to projects that seek alternatives to using animals
for conducting experiments.
Traditional
A widely criticised ruling by the constitutional court in January2002,
authorising the traditional Islamic slaughter of animals without
use of anaesthetic, lent new momentum to the animal rights movement.
The court had ruled that religious freedoms were explicitly protected
under the Basic Law while animal rights were not.
There is no indication that the new animal rights laws will have
any impact on Germany’s ‘Fighting Dogs’ legislation,
either at Federal or Regional States level. However, certain areas
of the dog legislation could now be in direct conflict with the
new animal rights legislation , such as the ‘short leash
and muzzle’ restrictions, and the definition that some breeds
should have non contact with other animals or human beings. |
