Legal and cultural progress
The petition run by the FOAL group was heard by the UK government in 2022 and was included in the Animal Welfare( Kept Animals) Bill [ 28 ], but, by 2023, the Animal Welfare( Kept Animals) Bill was no longer being considered by Parliament, although the government stated that it would take forward some of the individual measures [ 48 ].
In 2024, under the new Labour government, a Private Members ' Bill was introduced, known as the Animal Welfare( Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Bill, for the parliamentary session 2024 – 2026. At the time of writing *, it was at the House of Lords committee stage [ 49 ]. The Bill seeks to ban the transportation of dogs and cats that have been mutilated or if they are more than 42 days pregnant, raises the minimum age of dogs and cats being imported to 6 months, and requires that owners be with their animal during transportation or either 5 days before or after they have arrived in the UK [ 50 ].
Justine Shotton, the BVA President in 2022, wrote to eBay UK, Etsy UK and Amazon UK to raise awareness of the # CuttheCrop campaign and express the concerns of animal welfare organisations and the veterinary community about the ease of purchasing ear-cropping kits on eBay, as well as ear-straightening kits or correcting accessories from Etsy and Amazon. This resulted in eBay and Etsy removing these kits from their sites. Amazon UK stated it was against ear cropping and removed ear-cropping kits in 2022, but at the time of writing it still had straightening kits available through its online marketplace [ 51 ].
Addressing ear cropping in practice
The use of electronic health records from SAVSNET by Norris et al. [ 46 ] identified 132 dogs with cropped ears that had visited UK practices. The first identified case was in 2015, with recorded cases peaking in 2021. Furthermore, 63.6 % of cases involved evidence of the importation of dogs, most frequently from countries where ear cropping is illegal; these included Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Serbia, Spain, Poland and Ireland. These findings show that UK veterinary professionals may have to address and discuss ear cropping with owners more frequently in practice, even though the procedure is illegal within the country.
Discussing ear cropping with clients can be challenging, as highlighted by Brugman [ 52 ]. For example, a VS or veterinary nurse( VN) may be presented with a puppy whose cropped ears have not yet healed. According to the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons( RCVS) Code of Professional Conduct( CoPC), both VSs and VNs have a duty to prioritise the health and welfare of the animal [ 53, 54 ]. Brugman [ 52 ] also raises the question of whether it is appropriate to address the matter with the client. Some owners may be unaware that ear cropping is illegal in the UK, and explaining this could cause distress, both in recognition of the suffering caused to the puppy and in realising their involvement in illegal activity. Alternatively, the puppy may have been legally imported from abroad, despite the possibility that the procedure was conducted illegally in its country of origin. In other cases, clients may knowingly purchase an ear-cropped puppy despite being aware of the illegality of the procedure in the UK and certain other countries [ 52 ]. In any of these scenarios, the discussion is highly sensitive and requires careful handling.
Under the RCVS CoPC for VSs and VNs, information about an owner or their animal should not be disclosed to a third party. However, it is possible to do so if owner consent is gained, and if there is a requirement by law, a justification on animal welfare grounds or a wider public interest.
The RCVS provides examples of situations in which exceptions can be made and it would be appropriate to contact the authorities without client consent,“ where the information is likely to help in the prevention, detection or prosecution of a crime” [ 53, 54 ]. Currently, it is not mandatory to report these cases; therefore, it is up to the individual veterinary professional to make the decision [ 52 ].
Veterinary professionals in England and Wales can report cases to the local authority public health function( Trading Standards or Environmental Health Services). Those in Scotland can use the Consumer Advice Scotland reporting form for veterinary surgeons [ 55 ] or contact the SSPCA confidential animal helpline on 03000 999 999 [ 56 ]. Those in Northern Ireland should contact their local council ' s animal welfare officer [ 9 ].
Brugman [ 52 ] suggests that it may be beneficial to discuss the issue with other members of the team before taking any action, and to create a practice policy on the actions to be taken when an ear-cropped dog is brought into the veterinary practice.
If an owner enquires about ear cropping for their dog, or suggests it during a consultation, it would be beneficial to inform the owner about the law in the UK and provide information through leaflets and handouts on the welfare implications of ear cropping in dogs. They could also be directed to the BVA website page on the # CuttheCrop and # FlopNotCrop campaign [ 9 ] as well as the websites of animal welfare organisations such as the RSPCA or SSPCA.
Members of the general public who are concerned about someone who may be illegally cropping the ears of dogs, or arranging to send their dog to get its ears cropped, can contact the RSPCA on 0300 1234 999 or through its website [ 57 ], or the SSPCA on 03000 999 999 or through its website [ 56 ].
24 Veterinary Nursing Journal