Legal Aspects of Ear Cropping to Consider
Ear cropping is now considered an elective and cosmetic procedure; it’s not necessary. Many countries and breed associations have banned the surgery. Even in Germany, where several of the most popularly cropped breeds and the practice likely originated, it has been banned. It remains legal in the US and the majority of Canada, despite legal battles in several states to outlaw the practice. The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) also does not support the practice or that of tail docking when pursued strictly for cosmetic purposes due to the unnecessary risk to the animal implied with any surgery. However, at this time, both the American Kennel Club and Canadian Kennel Club support the practice and allow registration and showing of cropped dogs.
Ear cropping is a surgery and should only be performed by a qualified veterinarian. Sometimes the procedure is performed at home with no more than a pair of scissors while the animal is forcibly held down. This is painful, cruel, and can have catastrophic consequences, including infection, possible loss of the entire ear, or death. Therefore, serious thought should be given before pursuing an ear cropping. As with any surgery or anesthetic event, it carries significant risks. These risks should be discussed with your veterinarian extensively before pursuing the surgery with a qualified veterinarian.
For Protection:
Historically, many guard dogs’ ears have been cropped to increase the intimidation of their appearance, making them more reminiscent of wolves.
Most of these historical reasons have been disproved (improving hearing and preventing ear infections) or are no longer applicable today. Dogs of war have been predominantly shifted to the shepherd family, including malinois, GSDs, and Dutch shepherds whose ears generally stand naturally. Dogfighting is illegal, and the most common dogs used for hunting and chasing down prey are hounds whose long ears serve an important role in scent trailing. Although some dogs have portions of their ears removed later in life after a few injuries, this is usually in response to injury or repeat trauma and reactionary, not elective. Whether certain breeds look more intimidating with cropped ears is a matter of opinion. Consider the rottweilers; they are not cropped and are certainly considered intimidating.
The best age to crop a dog’s ear varies with factors like breed, age, and size of the puppy. Puppies within 12-16 weeks and weighing between 15-20 pounds is the ideal candidates for Otoplastry.
The success rate of puppy ear cropping procedure is high. However, there are some rare occasions, where you might not find the desired results.
As a dog owner who is keen to crop the respective puppy’s ears, it is ideal to be knowledgeable about some of the frequently asked questions regarding Otoplastry.
Post ear cropping surgery, your puppy needs 4 or 5 taping treatments to see the result. The taping appointments are usually scheduled within a period of 4 to 6 months. Ideally, after a perfect crop, you should start seeing the results in not more than 6 months.
Puppy ear cropping can be a painful procedure, that requires dedicated aftercare and regular veterinary visits. It is ideal to consider your motive regarding ear cropping your puppy at least twice prior to deciding to go ahead with the procedure.
Can you crop a dog’s ears at any age?
It sounds obvious, right? Dogs are born with ears – so they must have a purpose and they must be important. They are. Dogs dont just use their ears for hearing but also for communicating with other dogs and with us too.
Sadly, there are some people out there who believe that certain breeds and types of dogs should have their ears surgically altered or even completely removed. This awful process is called ear cropping.
Ear cropping is illegal in England and Wales, under Section 5 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006. Its a painful process where a dogs outer ears are removed altogether or are surgically altered, with the tips or huge sections of the outer ear being cut off.
Its against the law to carry out this procedure yourself or to send your dog to a vet in this country or abroad to have their ears cropped. Unfortunately, it still happens.
In some medical situations, vets may perform a procedure called a pinnectomy that can look like the ears have been cropped. This is only done in the case of disease of the ears and is more usually required in white cats who can sometimes get skin cancer. The procedure is allowed when there are clear medical reasons – clearly very different to when ears are surgically altered for cosmetic reasons.
Tail docking is another procedure that is illegal unless carried out by a vet for medical reasons – and having a working dog is not an exemption to the rule. No dogs should have their ears cropped. Period.