FW: ADVOCATES FOR ANIMALS' LATEST NEWS RELEASE - DELIGHT AS BAN ON TAIL-DOCKING IN SCOTLAND CONFIRMED - 7 February 2007

[Guest guest]

Great news.

 

S. Chinny Krishna

Blue Cross of India

 

ADVOCATES FOR ANIMALS' LATEST NEWS RELEASE - DELIGHT AS BAN ON

TAIL-DOCKING IN SCOTLAND CONFIRMED - 7 February 2007

 

 

 

NEWS RELEASE

Wednesday 7 February 2007 – For Immediate Use

 

 

 

DELIGHT AS BAN ON TAIL-DOCKING IN SCOTLAND CONFIRMED

 

CAMPAIGNERS CALL FOR REVIEW OF ALL OTHER ANIMAL MUTILATIONS

 

 

Advocates for Animals has welcomed today’s confirmation that the docking of

all dogs' tails will be banned in Scotland. The Scottish Executive today

announced that the ban is to come into force on 30 April 2007. Advocates has

campaigned for an end to tail-docking on the grounds that it is an

unnecessary mutilation that causes pain and distress. The animal protection

organisation has also called for all other animal mutilations to be

reviewed1.

 

 

In announcing the ban, Animal Health and Welfare Minister Ross Finnie said

that the Executive had consulted widely and concluded that the arguments

against docking outweighed those in its favour.

 

The Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006 bans procedures which

interfere with the bone structure or sensitive tissue of animals for non

medical reasons. Regulations were today laid in the Scottish Parliament

which exempt a number of procedures from this general ban, such as ear

tagging for livestock and micro chipping for pet animals. However the

tail-docking of dogs will not be exempted.

 

 

 

Advocates recently released a scientific report, Painful Reality2, revealing

the wide range of painful mutilations that are currently performed on

millions of animals in Scotland each year, often without any anaesthetic,

and called for each one to be reviewed. Such mutilations are often proposed

as acceptable solutions to perceived or real problems in managing animals

and are claimed to be in the animals’ best interests. However, Advocates

would like to see such problems addressed, wherever possible, by changing

management practices and/or the application of new technology.

 

 

 

Advocates’ Political Director, Libby Anderson, said: “The confirmation that

tail-docking of all dogs is to be banned in Scotland is great news for

animal welfare. We welcome the Scottish Executive’s approach, which

recognises that animals should not routinely have body parts removed without

there being over-riding welfare reasons to do so. We believe that this

approach should be extended to all mutilations of animals.”

 

 

A Scottish opinion poll commissioned by Advocates found that nine out of ten

people in Scotland believe all or some mutilations of animals should be

banned. A previous opinion poll commissioned by Advocates showed that over

two thirds of people living in Scotland believed that all tail-docking of

dogs should be banned.

 

 

 

- ENDS -

 

 

Notes for Editors

 

 

 

For interviews, further information or photographs, please contact Advocates

’ Political Director, Libby Anderson, on 0131 225 6039 (07967 839137).

 

 

 

1 The Scottish Executive consulted on procedures to be exempted

from Section 20 of the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006.

See:http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2006/10/12104247/0

 

 

 

Advocates’ response to the consultation can be found at:

www.advocatesforanimals.org/political/mutilationsconsultation2007.html

 

 

 

2 Painful Reality - Why painful mutilations of animals must

be reviewed can be found at: www.

advocatesforanimals.org/pdf/painfulreality.pdf