Quebec bans pet cosmetic surgery

[Catherine]

Quebec's order of veterinarians has moved to ban pet cosmetic surgery by 2017. That means no more tail docking and ear cropping. They feel these operations cannot be justified.


http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/q...-1.3437083

Most places let vets make their own choice. I think few places have even considered a ban. However if one place bans the unnecessary and harmful procedures maybe they will start a trend.

Why cut a dogs tail off. It makes no sense. Ear cropping is painful and serves no purpose. Some person somewhere decided they wanted to change the shape of the ears that nature gave a dog. I think the dogs look beautiful the way they are.

[Catslave.]

Been banned a long time in Australia I think it's up there with declawing cats which is also banned here.

[Tobi]

That is very good news Catherine.
There is never a reason for docking tails or cropping ears or declawing cats, except in exceptional medical circumstances (such as when amputations are necessary for the animal's health, or there has been some type of necrosis.)

[Ruth]

That is really good news. Now if the whole world will catch on that would be fantastic. I know other places have banned them already, too.

[Catherine]

I think Canada has been a little slow in this area. Only one province has banned the procedures.  It may take a while before the whole country responds.

It is about time. We have known for a very long time that such procedures are cruel and un-necessary.

[Ruth]

Yes, I think they should not have animal research at all. There are enough humans who will volunteer for such things, too.

[Tobi]

In UK as far as I am aware, cats are never declawed. But I saw an old Boxer today whose tail had been docked, a long time ago.
I think we have to watch out for "Breed standards" and do what we can to petition for kinder options. When institutions like Crufts start to change the breed standards, we are making headway! And slowly compassion comes into the situation, as many pedigree dogs were so thoughtlessly-bred they had massive health problems. Hopefully we will see a new future where healthy dogs mean more than those who are bred for cosmetic purposes!

[Ruth]

I didn't know dogs were bread for research. That's abominable! The poor dogs. Why are people so dang stupid!!

[Catherine]

Dogs are bred specifically for research. I think it is beagles in particular that are used. It is a terrible thing.

Purebred dogs are also specifically bred, but for a breed standard. Sometimes this standard is very unhealthy. In some cases it requires serious cosmetic surgery. These are cruel procedures and they need to be stopped.

Purebred cat breed standards do not permit any kind of cosmetic procedures. Some standards are a bit extreme, but cats seem to resist mutation. There is very little variation from one breed to another, when you compare it to the variations in dog breeds.

[Ruth]

That's interesting to know that about dog and cat breeding. My brother has a beagle and it's a very nice dog even if she whines to get food. lol. It is terrible that they breed these dogs as lab experiments. How sad a life for the dog!