"Please add my name to your list of Vets against docking. I have been qualified for nearly 25 years and spent most of that time working in primarily small animal practice in rural areas. In that time I can honestly not recall a significant tail injury in any working dog of an undocked breed (with the exception of one collie which caught its tail in a tractor, without a guard ), but have seen numerous pups with tail end trauma + discomfort following poor docking technique, rarely veterinary performed. This ban is long overdue, docking is in my mind purely cosmetic ,and unnecessary mutilation. The obvious way to stop this is surely to "persuade" the Kennel Club to prohibit showing of puppies/dogs with docked tails , born after a specific date. At present the majority of docked pups end up in pet homes, have no working connections and yet breeders are still unable to successfully sell many pups with full tails. Good luck!"

 

Caroline Evans BVSc MRCVS

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