WGD Posted January 23, 2008 Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 Do any Scottish members on here feel strongly about our inability to dock our working dogs due to the Animal Health & Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006? We will start to feel the affect of the tail docking ban, which came into force at the end of April 2007, increasingly in time to come as quality breeders refuse to take litters which cannot be docked. Unless you have recently looked for a pup or breed dogs yourself it is possible you may not have given this much thought but I'm sure many of us have experience of the damage a full tailed spaniel can do to itself working in thick, thorny cover. Since the legisaltion was passed and the ban came into force we have a new SNP Governemnt and the opportunity to lobby the Scottish Ministers for a review and hopefully reform of the current legislation to at least give us an exemption from the tail docking ban for working breeds and bring us in line with England and Wales. If you wish to convey your own thoughts to the Government you can do so by e-mailing scottish.ministers@scotland.gis.gov.uk and you should contact either Cabinet Secretary and Minister for Agriculture Richard Lochhead or the First Minister (or both). It is important that as much individual contact as possible is made with the ministers to convey the feeling from the shooting fraternity who have to pay the vets bills and nurse the injured dogs because of this legislation. WGD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gdunc Posted January 23, 2008 Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 Is it possible to set up one of those online petition thingys where people can add their support? I agree that direct contact is good but people are inherently lazy and the online thing is quick and easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WGD Posted January 23, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 (edited) Def possible, I just don't know how. Recently signed one re the shooting facilities for the Olympics but that was to the Westminster PM, not the Holyrood First Minister - will look into it and see whether it can be done. Agree gdunc that people are inherently lazy and will take 30 secs to fill in a petition rather than 5 mins to write a letter. WGD Edited January 23, 2008 by wgd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dustyfox Posted January 23, 2008 Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 Can you tell me if you are allowed to take the dog where tail docking is allowed and get it done there, then bring the dog back? or would you still get in trouble. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gdunc Posted January 24, 2008 Report Share Posted January 24, 2008 Can you tell me if you are allowed to take the dog where tail docking is allowed and get it done there, then bring the dog back? or would you still get in trouble. I'm pretty sure you'd get in bother for that and would struggle to get a reputable vet to dock for you. I know someone who was looking for a cocker recently and the only way to get a pup with a docked tail is to buy from England or Wales. As it happened he couldn't find what he was looking for pedigree wise there and ended up buying locally so his pup has a full tail. Be interesting to see her tail when fully grown. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WGD Posted January 24, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2008 Can you tell me if you are allowed to take the dog where tail docking is allowed and get it done there, then bring the dog back? or would you still get in trouble. Bit of a grey area as I understand it, but I think that if your bitch whelps south of the border (or in Wales) then a local vet could legally dock for you provided you - or whoever your dog is staying with to pup - can demonstrate the pups are for working (I believe an SGC is sufficient proof). Then bring the bitch and pups back home - the act of docking is illegal in Scotland but owning a docked dog or pup is not. WGD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gdunc Posted January 24, 2008 Report Share Posted January 24, 2008 Can you tell me if you are allowed to take the dog where tail docking is allowed and get it done there, then bring the dog back? or would you still get in trouble. Bit of a grey area as I understand it, but I think that if your bitch whelps south of the border (or in Wales) then a local vet could legally dock for you provided you - or whoever your dog is staying with to pup - can demonstrate the pups are for working (I believe an SGC is sufficient proof). Then bring the bitch and pups back home - the act of docking is illegal in Scotland but owning a docked dog or pup is not. WGD This is my understanding too - whelping would have to take place outside of Scotland Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted January 24, 2008 Report Share Posted January 24, 2008 If its only the act that is illegal I can't see why you can't whelp in Scotland and bring the pups into England for docking. You won't be breaking any laws after all Abortion is i believe still illegal in Northern Ireland and women were coming to England for them they didn't have to get knocked up here What you will have is all the paperwork to confirm they were docked according to English law and they will also have to be chipped, the actual birth place is irrelevant Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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