| RSPCA joins cropping campaign
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Issue: 09/10/2020
The RSPCA has got behind the campaign to ban the importation of dogs with cropped ears.
It is feared by the charity that a number of dogs are being sent to countries where ear cropping is still legal and then imported from overseas.
In the last five years the RSPCA has seen a 236 percent increase in the number of reports of ear cropping and cropped ears.
Last week we reported on the parliamentary petition which has been launched by dog trainer and activist Jordan Shelley.
He told OUR DOGS, 'It is such an obvious thing we can stop. They can't be shown here anyway. It will raise welfare here and abroad.'
Ear cropping has been illegal in England since 1899 and it became illegal in the rest of the UK via the Animal Welfare Act in 2006.
Mr Shelley said, 'An import ban could be possible under trade rules. There are companies that specifically import dogs with cropped ears for UK owners, fuelling cruelty abroad.
'It's time to make imports illegal, raise awareness of the cruelty around cropped dogs and advise the public not to support those that use cropped dogs in advertising and on social media, as they're inadvertently promoting this painful practice.'
RSPCA dog welfare expert Dr Samantha Gaines said, 'Ear cropping is a painful and unnecessary practice in which a dogs' ears are removed or surgically altered. It does not benefit the dog in any way and can actually be detrimental to their health, behaviour and welfare.
'While we do have concerns that ear cropping is being carried out illegally, and underground, in this country, we suspect that the majority of dogs with cropped ears are being sent abroad to have the procedure done or are being bought and imported deliberately from countries with less stringent animal welfare laws and regulations than here.
'Dogs should never be mutilated for cosmetic purposes and, while this practice has been illegal in this country for a long, long time, we'd like to see more regulation to ensure that it's no longer possible to get a cropped dog in England and Wales, unless rescuing through a reputable organisation.'
To view the petition go to – https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/333456.
