16 Apr 2021
The BVA and The FOAL Group want the Government to take urgent action to close a legal loophole that allows ear cropping to continue.
Paul Imrie
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IMAGE: Fotolia/chrisdorney.
Campaigners have been empowered in their call for urgent legislative action on ear cropping after a petition reached the 100,000 milestone.
The BVA and The FOAL Group (Focus on Animal Law) are calling for change to close all legal loopholes that allow ear cropping to continue, including a ban on the importation of any dogs with cropped ears.
All petitions that cross the 100,000 mark are considered for debate in Parliament, and Defra last month said it would work with the #CutTheCrop and #FlopNotCrop campaign.
An Early Day Motion has since been tabled by Plaid Cymru MP Liz Saville Roberts, noting ear cropping is barbaric and calling for a Government ban on the import of dogs with cropped ears.
BVA senior vice-president Daniella Dos Santos said: “It is fantastic to see the depth of public support for the campaign.
“In recent years, vets and animal welfare charities in the UK have seen a dramatic increase in the number of dogs with cropped ears, marking a frightening trend towards the normalisation of a mutilation that is horrific, unnecessary and rightfully illegal in this country.
Ms Dos Santos added: “However, current legal loopholes allow the trend of importing ear-cropped dogs into the UK to continue, and act as a smokescreen for illegal cropping taking place within the UK.
“We hope to see legislation on this issue soon. With less than a month to go to the Queen’s Speech, all eyes will now be on the Government to see if it has taken note of how passionately people feel about calling time on this barbaric trend.”
Jordan Shelley, co-founder of The FOAL Group, said: “It’s wonderful to see the petition surpass the 100,000 mark in just over seven weeks. We’d like to thank all our collaborators as well as the many other organisations and individuals that have taken the time to sign, share and support this campaign as without them it would have been impossible.”
The petition, which launched on 24 February, closes on 24 August. The Early Day Motion on ear cropping can be viewed online.
