A law which allows vets to chop back puppy dogs’ tails is being challenged at the Scottish Parliament.
Under current rules, two breeds of working dogs - spaniels and hunt point retrievers - can have the last third of their tail removed before they are five days old.
Supporters of the controversial practice argued "tail docking" helps to avoid later injury which could lead to a more painful amputation.
But Green party MSP Mark Ruskell hopes to bring back a full ban as part of new laws on animal welfare due for debate at Holyrood next week.
Ruskell said: "Tail docking is barbaric. The SNP's decision ditch the tail docking ban in 2017 was a dark day for animal welfare in Scotland."
Ruskell, the party's environment spokesman, claimed supporters of tail docking are "stuck in the past".
He added: "The amputation of thousands of puppies' tails just to appease the bloodsports lobby is despicable. Vets and animal welfare experts are clear that there is no scientific basis for tail docking, despite what its advocates claim.
"Scotland cannot claim to be a world leader on animal welfare when it brutalises puppy dogs to appease the shooting lobby. It's time to reintroduce the ban."
Tail docking had been outlawed in Scotland until an emotionally-charged debate in 2017 saw the rule relaxed. It had been the only outright ban of its kind in the UK for 10 years. The SNP Government pushed it through despite some members of the party refusing to back the plan.
During debate on the proposal three years ago, Scottish Government veterinary adviser Andrew Voas told MSPs an estimated 80 puppies would have their tails docked a year to avoid one amputation on an older dog through injury, which he said would be more painful.
The Scottish Gamekeepers Association said the procedure is different to full removal.
"It is a quick, preventative procedure protecting the animal over its whole working life, leaving it with an expressive, waggy tail," the group’s chairman said at the time.
Dogs Trust Deputy Veterinary Director Run Hanaghan, who opposed the move at Holyrood, said in 2017: "Tail docking involves severing through bone, nerve, muscle, and connective tissue when pups are less than 5 days old, at which point it is very difficult to guarantee they will go on to be working dogs."
