Veterinarians urge state to ban cropping of dogs' ears
Toolbox
By JOHN ZICCONI Vermont Press Bureau - Published: January 28, 2006
MONTPELIER — Vermont veterinarians Friday encouraged lawmakers to make this state the first to ban the controversial cosmetic surgery of cropping a dog's ears.
Vets in a poll conducted by the Vermont Veterinary Medical Society this week voted 2-1 in favor of the ban, and dispatched representatives to the Statehouse to express their support.
"We are a group of medical professionals, but this is not medicine," said Karen Bradley, a Montpelier vet and chairwoman of the society's Animal Welfare Committee. "Just because it is a procedure we do does not mean it is right."
Ear cropping involves slicing off the back half of a dog's ear and then resetting it — usually with tape — when the dog is between 12 and 14 weeks old. Few vets enjoy performing the procedure, which is bloody and causes "pain and distress," they said.
The cosmetic procedure is already banned in many European countries, as well as Australia and New Zealand, they said.
After hearing from veterinarians, four of the five members of the Senate Judiciary Committee said they support a ban that would make ear cropping a crime. The committee plans to vote Tuesday.
"I listened to the evidence, and the evidence said for us to become the first state in the union to ban this is a good thing," said Sen. Richard Sears, D-Bennington, the committee's chairman.
"There is still a long way to go" before a ban becomes law, Sears said. "But we will continue to push to see if we can get support."
After a committee vote, the bill must be approved by the entire Senate before moving to the House for review.
Animal rights activists are thrilled at the early support.
"I'm happy and really excited," said Susan Skaskiw, executive director of the Vermont Volunteer Services for Animal Human Societies. "It's a big step. Vermont is such a leader."
Vets predict other states will seriously consider bans once someone else takes the lead.
"Veterinarians from other states have told us they feel this will definitely instigate other veterinary medical societies to start doing the same thing," Bradley said.
Dog breeders, however, are disappointed. Out-of-state dog owners have threatened to boycott Vermont's three dog shows if ear-cropping is banned, they said.
The three shows, all held in Essex on consecutive days in July, bring the state an estimated $225,000 annually, they said.
"You can't imagine the furor that will come," said Ed Peterson, founder of the Vermont Federation of Dog Clubs. "It may affect us very materially."
Vets said a ban should have little effect on dog shows because only one breed, the pit bull, is required by show club rules to have cropped ears.
Other dogs that have their ears cropped so they do not droop include Dobermans, boxers and terriers.
The Vermont Veterinary Medical Society has nearly 300 members, but just 44 participated in the poll, voting 30-14 to support a legislative ban.
Those who voted against the measure did so only because they opposed laws limiting their practice, not because they support ear cropping, vets said.
"There is no veterinarian in the state that we can tell who wants to do this procedure," said Jon Stokes, a Chittenden County vet and past president of the VVMS.
Bradley, who conducted the poll, said fewer than 20 percent of the organization's members voted because most vets do not perform the procedure at all and therefore do not care if it is banned.
Veterinarians who oppose a ban are fearful the Legislature will eventually target other medically unnecessary but popular procedures like tail-docking and declawing, she said.
The ear-cropping bill under consideration makes the first offense a civil fine akin to a traffic ticket. But a second offense would be a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a $2,000 fine.
A third offense would be punishable by two years in prison and a $5,000 fine.
Contact John Zicconi at john.zicconi @rutlandherald.com.
13