Alberta veterinarians have voted to ban unnecessary surgical procedures for animals.
The ban would include no more unnecessary ear cropping, tail nicking and blocking, declawing, cosmetic dentistry, tattooing not for registration or identification and body piercing.
“The veterinary profession, as with everything, it changes,” Alberta Veterinary Medical Association Registrar Dr. Darrell Dalton said. “It’s becoming far more conscious and aware of animal welfare and things that were acceptable 40 years ago are no longer acceptable.”
Dr. Dalton said the most common practice is tail docking, which began in the 1700s to differentiate working and non-working dogs.
"It's basically to maintain breed standards, and I think breed standards are going to have to change. We can find no scientific evidence or scientific reason to cut a dog's tail off."
After Sunday’s vote, the Alberta Veterinary Medical Association will begin to work with legislators to make the recommendation a law.
“We’re extremely proud of this,” Dalton said.
With files from CTV Edmonton’s Nicole Weisberg
