Dogs need their ears. They wouldn't be born with them if they didn't have a use. Ear cropping is an unnecessarily cruel procedure that is only used for the satisfaction of their owners. Is this ethically moral?

 

What is ear cropping?

Ear cropping is the act of removing part (or sometimes all) of a dog's ear, and is often followed by taping the remaining ear upright so that it heals vertically, giving the ears an upright triangular appearance, rather than the hanging-down floppy ears of most dogs. Without their ears, body language and communication is difficult for dogs as they rely on their ears as a big factor to be able to do this. 

Celebrities and fashion often normalise ear cropping as the number of celebrities with cropped dogs rises. In fact, images of cropped dogs are even being used on items of clothing and other merchandise, as well as in advertising. Dogs only have their ears cropped for one reason which is to achieve a certain 'look' which is to make them look more tougher or more intimidating. However, ear cropping does not benefit the dog in any way and could have effects on their health, behaviour and welfare in both the short and long term. 

 

Banning progress:

Ear cropping is illegal in England and Wales, under Section 5 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006. It is also illegal in Australia, New Zealand and parts of Europe. It's against the law to carry out this procedure yourself or to send your dog to a vet in this country or abroad to have their ears cropped but sadly, it still happens and is still legal in many parts of the world. The only instance where animals could get their ears cropped is for diseases in their ears, through a procedure called pinnectomy. This is obviously for medical reasons, not cosmetic ones. 

 

What are charities such as the RSPCA doing to end ear cropping?

The RSPCA is seeing increasing numbers of dogs coming into care with cropped ears. In fact, they've seen a 236% increase in the number of reports of ear cropping during 2015-2019 (178 reports in total). Charities such as the RSPCA, are fighting for harsher regulations in England and Wales to ensure to stamp out ear cropping and the importation of cropped dogs from abroad once and for all (unless through a reputable rescue organisation for rehoming).