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AVMA House Rejects Policy Change on Ear Cropping and Tail Docking

The American Veterinary Medical Assn.’s House of Delegates on July 10 rejected Resolution 4, which would have revised its policy on ear cropping and tail docking of dogs.

The action came during the legislative body’s semi-annual session, held in Seattle, Wash., before the AVMA’s annual convention.

Submitted by the Utah Veterinary Medical Assn., the resolution would have eased the AVMA policy, adopted by the executive board in November 2008, that opposes ear cropping and tail docking when done solely for cosmetic reasons.

The revision would have noted that the procedures, though offering limited or no therapeutic value, are condoned by the American Kennel Club and many members of society. Because of that acceptance, the policy would have stated that it is “imperative that the procedures be performed by trained, licensed and caring veterinarians using current stand of care” while continuing to support the elimination of those procedures from breed standards.

In addition, the resolution would have revised AVMA policy to ensure that association members “conform to all state mandates concerning the procedures.”

The November 2008 policy significantly altered the AVMA’s position against the two procedures; previous policy recommended only that veterinarians discuss with clients the cosmetic nature of the procedures before performing them.

A major reason for the resolution was to defend veterinarians willing to perform such procedures who might otherwise be ostracized by the profession for going against AVMA policy. 

In its argument in favor of the resolution, the Utah VMA said the AVMA should be wary of restricting pet owners’ rights because it supports the concept of pet ownership.

In other action:

• The House Advisory Committee withdrew Resolution 2, a revision of AVMA policy on the use of random-source dogs and cats in research, testing and education. Though no reason for the withdrawal was given, the resolution may have been based on a flawed understanding of “pound seizure” laws. New resolutions on the matter could surface at future House of Delegates sessions.
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• The House of Delegates approved Resolution 1, giving the American Assn. of Zoo Veterinarians representation on the House Advisory Panel. The measure recognizes zoo veterinarians as “important members of the profession,” even though the AAZV cannot gain a seat in the House of Delegates as a constituent-allied veterinary organization because about 20 percent of its nearly 1,000 members live outside the U.S. and are not members of the AVMA. The AVMA policy requires 90 percent for constituent organizations.
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• The House of Delegates referred Resolution 3 to the AVMA executive board. The measure recommends that the board convene a “multidisciplinary entity” to clarify the veterinarian’s role in the judicious use of antimicrobials.

Jointly submitted by the Washington state and New Jersey veterinary medical associations and the Association of Avian Veterinarians, Resolution 3 would remove the clause “when under the direction of a veterinarian” from the existing sentence “Judicious use of antimicrobials, when under the direction of a veterinarian, should meet all requirements of a veterinarian-client-patient relationship.”

The rationale for the revision is that veterinarians should always be the decision-makers regarding the judicious use of antimicrobials and that the clause in question clouded the issue. <HOME>

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AVMA House Rejects Policy Change on Ear Cropping and Tail Docking

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Cropping and Docking should be left up to a professional, experienced Vet and the owner. If you like cropped ears fine. if you like natural ears that's fine too. Dogs are not made by nature. Wolves yes Dogs no Domestic Dogs are a product of the human race. Different people breeding animals with certain characteristics and thus creating the breeds we know today. If you belong to one of these radical groups who believe that a medically unnecessary surgery should not be performed then you'd also better ban declawing of cats, spaying and neutering, amputation of human vestigial tails, removal of one set of reproductive organs on a hermaphrodite infant, descenting of skunks and ferrets, and every single other "unnecessary" surgery that is performed on a regular basis. Khei, Kingman, AZ Posted: 7/29/2009 9:27:27 PM The AVMA must act on behalf of dogs to protect them from unnecessary cosmetic procedures, namely ear cropping and tail docking. Why risk the health of a dog by putting it through the trauma of surgery and extended healing time when there is no need to do so? If, in fact, a dog has an actual health issue or is at high-risk for a health issue that would lead a veterinarian to recommend surgery as a treatment existing or imminent condition, then that is up to the medical professional. However, these procedures should not be done to a perfectly healthy dog for purely cosmetic reasons. These animals need a voice and one that is medically informed. The pet "owners" do not necessarily have the information they need to make an informed decision in this regard. There are millions of dogs who have owners who are irresponsible, cruel, and/or self-motivated and who make decisions about their pets not based on the medical and emotional welfare of the animal. We need to have the AVMA and participating veterinarians take a stand and hopefully help to change the breed standards to reflect the best interests of the animal. Melis, Sterling, VA Posted: 7/24/2009 11:06:18 AM i think its fine if the incompetent vets dont' want to dock or crop dogs - leave the job ot the professionals who know what they are doing instead of the butchers (aka veterinarians) who someone manage to torture pups while docking and have no clue how to properly crop an ear. For those vets out there who know how to dock painlessly and when to do it, how to crop and support ears so they stand as mother nature intended them to, and who know why you remove dewclaws on dogs my apologies for short term lumping of you few into the general vet population and kudos on learning how to do things right. Lotta, worcester, MA Posted: 7/20/2009 9:50:37 PM Mike, you believe that tail docking should be done to prevent tail injuries. I have a question for you then. Should we chop off legs to all those dogs prone to hip displaysia just so to prevent this from happening? We have a farm and our dogs herd and out of our 20 plus dogs we had perhaps only 1-2 had some sort of tail injury that required serious vet attention. I would like to know where you get this proof that tail injuries happen so often that the tail must be cut off. This seems to me a bit extreme. Nature created tails, and if tails were useless or bothersome they would have atrophied and fallen off, just as it happened in humans. Anthony, Kansas City, MO Posted: 7/18/2009 7:03:54 PM