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Kennel Club Position On Tail Docking Vote

Author: The Kennel Club UK
Posted: Thursday 23rd March, 2006. 00:00:00

On Tuesday 14 March Members of Parliament voted in favour of banning tail docking with an exemption for certain working dogs. They also voted to ban the showing of these legally docked working dogs.

Whilst the Kennel Club very much welcomes, on welfare grounds, the decision by MPs to exempt certain working dogs from a ban on tail docking, it remains confused as to why such legally docked dogs will not be able to be shown. The Kennel Club is of the view that it is unfair to penalise responsible and genuine working dog breeders and owners who quite legally and properly have their puppies docked in the interest of their welfare, by making it illegal for them to show these dogs.

This decision will also, sadly, precipitate the end of the Kennel Club’s concept of attempting to keep the working and exhibiting sides of the dog game as integrated as possible. Its ability to instil into show judges a sense of ‘form following function’ and hence a need for moderation, will be severely impaired by the move. Such a move as is proposed would institutionalise the segregation of show and working dogs in some breeds. It would also see the end to dogs which are legally docked in their country of origin competing at certain, though not all, UK shows and could not be said to improve the welfare position of already legally docked dogs .

The Kennel Club will be appealing to the Lords to attempt to rescind the ban on the showing of legally docked working dogs from the new clause on mutilations. The Kennel Club has stated that it would monitor docked dogs at Kennel Club licensed shows to ensure they had been docked legally and would disqualify from all wins at such shows any docked dogs which had not been legally docked.

The advantages of this would be as follows:

• It would deal with the dog-show breeder who attempted to dock illegally simply in order to win in the show ring – the Kennel Club has proved it can do this and has done so with ear cropping for well over 100 years.


• It would provide Defra with a ready-made ability to monitor compliance with the law which would otherwise have to be provided by Defra


• It would therefore allow for better enforcement.


• It would enable true working dogs to benefit from the animal welfare issues that the exemption of such genuine working dogs would allow.


• The difficulty in assessing which dogs have naturally bobbed tails would be left to experts thus relieving government authorities of this difficult task.

Said Caroline Kisko, Kennel Club Secretary “While the Kennel Club is relieved that MPs have voted to exempt working dogs from a ban on tail docking, it seems extremely unfair that people wishing to show their working dogs will be effectively punished for complying with the law and thus safeguarding the welfare of their dogs”.

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