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Tail Docking
Don't Let Dogs Become Fashion Victims
The cruel process of tail docking has been prevalent amongst almost 70 dog breeds for decades. The RSPCA and animal lovers world wide have long deemed this practice cruel and unnecessary.
Tail docking usually occurswhen puppies are onlythree or four days old. There are two ways of dockng; cutting off the tail with a pair of scissors or by tying a tight rubber band around the tail. In both cases, anaesthetic is not usually used.
This amputation severs bone, cartilage, muscle, tendons and nerves, and is an extremely painful procedure for any animal to endure. Unfortunately, this was done on such a regular basis many people assumed breeds such as Rottweilers and Dobermans were born without tails.
The RSPCA has campaigned long and hard to ensure this brutal tradition, which is done purely for cosmetic reasons, is stopped. It has been banned in many European countries for some time now, and after ten years of lobbying, tail docking was finally banned in Australia in April 2004.