Docking (animal)
Tail-docking in pigs is typically carried out without anesthetic when the piglet is three to four days old, causing acute trauma and pain.
While tail docking is an effective preventive method in some cases, if it is not carried out correctly it may result in other problems such as ill thrift[7] or rectal prolapse.
[12] However, docking of lambs within 24 hours of birth is not recommended, as it may interfere with ingestion of colostrum and/or formation of the maternal bond.
[14] The UK Farm Animal Welfare Council has noted that this limitation can be problematic in management of hill flocks where normal practice is to handle lambs as little as possible during the first week "to avoid mis-mothering, mis-adventure and injury.
Therein, tail docking was explicitly declared to be legal and exempt from regulation when performed by persons of or over the age of eighteen—notably before the dog opens its eyes in infancy.
[18] Withal, a 1991 amendment to the act by Parliament enacted a prohibition of the docking of dogs' tails by lay persons from 1 July 1993 onward—thus abridging the practice to veterinary surgeons only.
[19] The passage of this amendment resulted in a response from the Council of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, when in November 1992 the group ruled docking to be unethical "unless for therapeutic or acceptable prophylactic reasons".
In 1987 the European Convention for the Protection of Pet Animals, established by Council of Europe, prohibited docking for non-medical reasons, though signatory countries are free to opt out of this provision, and almost half of them have done so.
Some anecdotal reports have suggested that such docking may reduce SCC (somatic cell counts in milk) and occurrence of mastitis.
However, a study examining such issues found no significant effect of docking on SCC or mastitis frequency or on four measures of cow cleanliness.
Tail docking in the dairy industry is prohibited in Denmark, Germany, Scotland, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and some Australian states,[29] as well as California, Ohio, and Rhode Island.
]Several large organizations within the dairy industry are against tail docking[31][32] because of the lack of scientific evidence supporting claims benefiting the practice.
