A recent investigation has exposed a network of breeders in Wales offering to crop puppies’ ears for an extra fee.
It comes off the back of a #FlopNotCrop and #CutTheCrop campaign run by Focus on Animal Law otherwise known as The FOAL Group .
Ear cropping is where the flappy bit of a dog’s ear is cut off purely for cosmetic purposes, to achieve a certain tough look.
Often done without anaesthesia, it has no welfare benefit but in fact is painful and leaves lasting health problems.
It is illegal in the UK but still legal to import ear cropped dogs or take dogs abroad to be cropped, and the problem comes when some breeders use fake pet passports to pretend the ears were cropped elsewhere and claiming the animal was imported afterwards.
Read more: Investigation uncovers network of breeders offering to crop puppies' ears and supply fake passports
The #FlopNotCrop campaign is working to put an end to the importation of cropped eared dogs.
An investigation by BBC Wales, currently available to watch on BBC IPlayer , revealed a number of backyard breeders who have the procedure done domestically and then easily obtain fake pet passports.
So what is the campaign all about exactly and what can you do to help?
How did the campaign begin?
The #FlopNotCrop campaign quickly reached 100,000 signatures in May this year, only seven weeks after launching the petition.
It was debated in parliament on June 7, and the government responded by saying it had every intention of tightening animal welfare regulations.
Victoria Prentis, the parliamentary under-secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs, said: “Dogs with cropped ears should not be available domestically, except for those that have already, sadly, been cropped.
“We will introduce powers to enable us to bring in new restrictions on welfare grounds in future.
“We will need to work very closely on closing the loopholes, but all of us and the public have a role to play in calling out bad practice where it is seen.”
Around the same time the government’s pet theft taskforce was launched, and in September it produced an action plan for animal welfare which included to: “Prioritise the health and welfare of dogs by prohibiting the importation and non-commercial movement of dogs into Great Britain that have been subject to low welfare practices, such as ear cropping or tail docking, in line with our domestic legislation on these practices.”
The campaign is heavily backed by Llanharan based rescue centre Hope Rescue, who last year took in a litter of eight American bullies, six of which had cropped ears.
One, Gryff, was the poster dog for the BBC documentary.
Another of the dogs, Ginny, was particularly wary of anyone touching her head or ears when she was first rescued.
She will suffer from recurrent ear infections for life as a result of debris infiltrating her unprotected inner ear.
They were seized from Christopher Mae, 32, from Kewstoke Avenue, Llanrumney, who was sentenced at Cardiff Magistrates’ Court for illegal dog breeding, animal mutilation, causing unnecessary suffering to an animal and illegal importation of dogs.
He was sentenced to 16 weeks imprisonment, an eight-year ban on keeping dogs and has also been forced to pay over £11,000 in fines and costs.
Founder of Hope Rescue, Vanessa Waddon spoke in the BBC documentary, explaining puppies can increase in value by £1,500 with cropped ears, leading to litters worth £60,000.
What can you do?
For those looking to get involved, The FOAL Group has a template letter to send to your MP on its website.
What is also integral is avoiding sharing pictures of ear cropped puppies on social media and definitely not buying a dog with cropped ears, which only feeds into the corrupt market.
One of the main issues is the normalisation; as Vanessa Waddon said in the documentary, well known celebrities post pictures of their own ear cropped dogs without thinking twice and it becomes a trend.
The FOAL Group is the same organisation behind Finn’s Law, a campaign to bring about new laws in the UK to more severely prosecute those who injured service animals which saw success in 2019.
The group hopes to find the same success with #FlopNotCrop and is also working with the Scottish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the British Veterinary Association.
While animal welfare is a devolved matter, the pet theft taskforce worked with police forces across England and Wales.
A spokesperson for the Welsh government explained they have a five year Animal Welfare Plan for Wales in place to cut out illegal dog breeding including new regulation and was monitoring developments closely.
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