NEW TERM FOR CROPPING AND DOCKING DOGS

by Joseph Byer, Jr., Research Editor

“Fixed” is the new term for doing ears and tails. Confusing, since it used to mean removing sex organs and sounded better than castrated.

The double irony is that the animal activists, the AVMA and others who oppose cropping of ears and docking of tails claim that we should accept that which is natural. In addition to the reproductive organs, what about the "natural" occurrence of wisdom teeth, tonsils, the appendix, and male foreskin just to mention a few?

In an attempt at correcting the oft-mistaken notion that floppy ears are natural, scientists have stated in a recent study that such ears are 'technical defects" and "deformed" and NOT NATURAL! Dr Adam Wilkins of Cambridge University and the Institute for Theoretical Biology at the Humboldt University in Berlin states, " ... animals change when they are domesticated, the teeth, especially the canines, and brains of domesticated animals are smaller, their ears are floppy and they have curly tails".

Most of us have heard of the Silver Fox experiment conducted by the Russian scientist Dmitri K. Belyaev, who began his experiments in the 1950s. Despite some financial difficulties, the experiment was reported as continuing in 2014 with roughly the same number of foxes.

Belyaev and his colleagues took wild silver foxes and bred them selecting only the ones who showed the least fear of humans. The result of this breeding program conducted over more than 40 generations of silver foxes was a group of friendly, domesticated foxes. Many of them had FLOPPY EARS, short or curly tails, extended reproductive seasons, changes in fur coloration, and changes in the shape of their skull, jaws, and teeth. So the ears that hang are NOT of nature's doing but rather of man's meddling with the natural process. According to Dr. Wilkins, "Floppy ears may look adorable, but they actually are a result of malformed ear cartilage. An animal hoping to hear well isn't going to benefit from having the ear flopped down alongside its face".

Cropping is the "fix" for that unintended consequence, at least in many of the breeds where it benefits their purpose. And I apply the term "fix" because that seems to be the accepted term for spay and neuter operations that are referred to as "fixing" a dog.

The cropping of ALL purebred dogs is not suggested or warranted because a dropped ear enhances the sense of smell, essential to hunting dogs. On the other hand, a cropped ear is an asset to the guard and protection dog breeds. Hearing is enhanced and even made more directional for those breeds. Additional benefits include reduced ear infections and a better bond to the human owner.

So let's just all drop the pretense that cropping is not natural. It is in fact an attempt to restore what nature intended. After all we repair broken bones, surgically fix cleft palates, club feet and a host of the other unfortunate but natural results. So the "its natural" argument is flawed in that it misapplies what is truly natural!

The animal rights people are simply trying to make the case for their intended extinction of pet ownership.

And they are dragging the AVMA and others along on a path of destruction with many unintended consequences as well. They are attempting to obliterate hundreds of years of man's stewardship over the animals; a history and accomplishment that once lost can never be recreated. It is clear that the "Natural" argument is but one of a huge list of mistakes by the animal rights people; one they will never be able to FIX.