Why shouldn’t dogs ears be cropped?

Why shouldn’t dogs ears be cropped?

Cosmetic Otoplasty is a veterinary procedure that removes part of a dog’s ear and is often referred to as cropping. In this process, the external part of the ear - a portion of the pinnae - is removed to leave it shorter. If done out of neceesity, it is done to puppies between the ages of 7 and 12 weeks. However, doing so after this period is even more painful for the animal. Clearly, cutting any part of the body is going to painful, not to mention the legal ramifications. So if it causes pain to the animal and is also highly illegal to do so, we must as the question- Why is it still happening?

In five years, we've seen 236% more reports of ear cropping

          (RSPCA, 2015-19)

With the exception of rare scenarios that deem it medically necessary to crop a dog’s ears- it should not happen- at all- ever! Some people believe that certain breeds should have their ears cropped for the way it makes them look! Really?!? They’re  born with ears for a reason- same reason we have them- to allow them to hear and sense sound. For dogs it’s even more important, as they also use their ears when communicating between themselves, aswell as us humans using them to read their body language. We’ve all seen our dog’s ears stick up when they’re alerted to a sound, go back when they get nervous and go forward when ready to go. So removing a section of the ear is just not ok. It’s not cool, the dog doesn’t like it and nor does it aid them in any way later in life.

There are various different types of crop, including the long crop, show crop, short crop and battle crop. Just by the names alone, we can see that none of these are for the benefit of the anim, but for humans…human vanity and status! The most popular breeds to have their ears cropped are the Boston Terrier, Boxer, Doberman Pinscher, Miniature Pinscher, Great Dane and the Schnauzer.

‘Breed clubs tell us there were medical or work-related reasons for cutting off body parts years ago, which they say ended up setting a “breed standard” for people’s expectations of their appearance. There isn’t evidence pertaining to any medical benefits of removing body parts or even logical explanations of why the practice continues (other than the horrific truth of fighting dogs having less to bite when ear flaps, pinna, are cut off).’

(Dr. Karen Becker)

In England and Wales, cropping was made illegal in 2006. The horrible realisation is that people can’t take their dogs to the vet if they want their ears cropped- yet the numbers are rising! This means that people are doing this themselves at home to their animals predominantly without the medical training or proper facilities to carry out such a procedure, inevitably making it even more dangerous to the dog’s health.

The UK and Australia are taking the biggest stand against this act by making it illegal. However, sadly it is still legal in Europe and the United States. Arguably two of the biggest continents in the developed world, yet they still allow this abhorrent act- incredible! What this means is that here in the UK, despite being illegal to carry out the procedure in this country, dogs are still being imported with cropped ears- thus allowing the ‘fad’ or ‘craze’ to carry on. To make matter worse, celebrities around the world appear to be endorsing them too. Breeders are spreading misinformation when selling puppies encouraging the ‘look’ and fail to let new owners know that it can affect the animal’s future health. Hardly surprising given the trauma they have been exposed to. Common behavioral issues that can occur in a dog with cropped ears are anxiety, nervous around humans, apprehensive about contact around the head area and general nervous aggression.

This petition Stop the rising number of ear-cropped dogs in the UK - Petitions (parliament.uk) has 95,000 signatures of its need 100,000 to reach parliament. This could be the needed push to stop cropping in the UK altogether as it isn’t currently illegal to sell a dog with cropped ears. Please- if you have took the time to read this far, please take another 30 seconds to click the link and sign the petition. Every signature counts and together we can bring this to an end. If we don’t, who else will?

Cropping a dog’s ears is not right. It changes the way they behave and is painful and cruel. It shouldn’t be happening and we hope that this petition reaches its target. If the import and selling of dogs with cropped ears is made illegal, the number of dogs having to go through this procedure will decrease. No dog should be put through this pain and fright and any human endorsing it has no regard for the animal’s health and wellbeing at all.