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TWO ROSCOMMON MEN have been ordered to pay a total of €250 to the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ISPCA) after admitting they docked the tails of six Terrier puppies in March 2014.
James McLoughlin and Colin McLoughlin share an address at Lisacurkia, Tibohine, Co Roscommon.
They were the first people to be summonsed before the courts in relation to offences under section 16 of Animal Health and Welfare Act – which came into force on 6 March last year.
The case took place as a result of a visit made by ISPCA Inspector Karen Lyons to the men’s home on 3 April 2014, less than a month after the commencement of the legislation which outlawed the docking of puppies’ tails and the removal of dew claws by lay-people.
Lyons discovered a litter of four week old Terrier puppies in a shed on the property.
The ISPCA said it was later established that the docking of these puppies’ tails had been carried out after the implementation of the new law, without the involvement of a veterinary surgeon.
The puppies were surrendered into the care of the ISPCA and were subsequently rehomed. A file on the matter was prepared by the ISPCA and submitted to the Department of Agriculture’s legal division.
ISPCA Chief Inspector Conor Dowling said Ireland needs to “get away from the attitude that this sort of mutilation is normal practice and that some breeds don’t look right with long tails”.
“This is just one of several cases we have instigated in relation to the illegal docking of puppies. People must be aware that to perform this act is a criminal offence and can have serious consequences,” Dowling added.
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€250 what a joke. Wouldn’t even come close to covering the costs incurred by the ISPCA.
€250 per dog if anything
Should be a life time ban on owning animals.
Some dogs look better with docked tail.
You’d look better with a docked head.
I’ve owned Jack Russell’s for years and docked the tails on every litter. I know I sound like an old fart but some dogs are better with a short tail. Blame the Green Party for this stupid law!
Hi Bobby it’s your kind of selfish aesthetic that subjects innocent animals to having this barbaric procedure performed on them by cruel breeders. They’re animals cannot defend themselves. Usually the procedure is performed without anaesthetic or pain relief or treatment of ensuing infections by being done with a dirty knife. How would you like it if newborns had a finger chopped off? No difference. At all.
I had a jack Russell and the vet at the time refused to dock him . I have to say he did look very weird with a long tail .
Anne , I could be wrong but I think that it takes a few weeks for the bone in the tail to form so its best to dock it as early as possible when its a bit like ‘ jelly ‘
I have an 11 year JRT & her long tail is beautiful. We know what she wants by how she wags her tail. When she’s happy she doesn’t have to wag her entire body, when she walks she holds it high with a curl on the top. Suits her & every other dog. The way God intended
Hi Suzie I’m afraid you’re totally wrong about that. The bones are fully formed at birth. It’s nothing short of barbaric. We are the only country in the western world that still docks. Disgraceful.
To put an animal through pain for purely aesthetic reasons, and for no real discernible purpose is madness in my eyes. Bit like circumcision on kids
That’s incorrect. All the bones are there at birth, so yes, they do feel it when it’s docked and absolutely scream the house down- I’ve heard it. A barbaric practice which is fortunately no longer permitted.
My apologies I stand corrected
I have a boxer. She was the last batch to be allowed docking before it came into law. I see so many boxers now with their long tails and they look lovely. It’s just the norm now same as it was to dock tails. I don’t believe in docking at all now or ear cropping,this is still legal.
Any puppy I saw now with their tail docked I honestly would call the gardai!
Pathetic fine. Should be 1000 at least. They’d make that off one pup!!!
Seriously, what’s the point? Court costs and what the ISPCA spent retrieving and rehoming these pups must far outweigh such an insignificant fine..
With a penalty like that I’m sure they have learned their lesson and will never do it again!
It says a lot about animal welfare legislation in this country when a small fine will suffice in these circumstances. Severe penalties for cruel acts like this need to be introduced and enforced.
€250 is probably less than it would have cost them to get the dogs done at the vets. They saved themselves a few quid. Only in Ireland
It’s illegal. A vet won’t do it.
It suggests in the 6th paragraph that it is? Anyone care to clarify. Have a boxer/Labrador myself and it was recommended to me but I’d never do it to the poor thing. Wouldn’t like it if someone cut my tail in half, I struggle as it is
Vets are not permitted to dock tails, unless it’s for a medical reason, such as an injury to a tail in an adult dog.
A vet can do it, if they’re satisfied that the dog is a working dog where the tails can get damaged regularly.
‘Dock him’ see how he likes it and I’m not talking about his tail
A fairly soft fine, it must be said. I don’t understand the point of docking pups tails anyway. It’s a terribly cruel thing to do.
Not a big enough deterrent but at least the pups were taken off them and they couldn’t be treated like cash cows that they obviously were to the two men.
Editor: “Insert the cutest stock image of a puppy you can find!”
To be fair most puppies are pretty damn cute.
It’s great to see a successful prosecution but the penalty imposed is insufficient.This is a new law so hopefully some correspondence to the judiciary will help here.
In fairness I (I’m a vet) used to see a lot of pups docked but in the last year I have only seen 2. The practice has in general stopped. The ISPCA and Department of Agriculture are vigorously prosecuting these when they have enough proof.
The law States that some breeds are exempt and can have their tails cut but only by a practising vet and under strict conditions. …I do not agree to tail docking for cosmetic purposes but I do breed, hunt and own German pointers. A breed that needs to have its tail docked. ..This is because like other hunting breeds the tail can get caught up and torn when in heavy cover and this can lead to an awful mess and considerable pain for the dog ..pups under 5 days old do NOT feel the pain because they develop from nose to bum..
Funny how you care about the considerable pain your hunting dogs might suffer but nothing about what the animals you hunt might suffer?
Do you eat meat?
Nope
So you inflict torture on the dog to keep it from suffering a possible injury. Sounds fair.
I dock tails (and more) on lambs every year it a legal practice and has to do with good sheep husbandry – (it helps prevent suffering ) …
The docking of Pup’s tails is soley for aesthetic reasons .
But is it cruel ?
That is the question for the reason for the law on docking puppies tails .
Can lambs teach us anything about this question ?
Yes they can !
I have observed that new born lambs up to 24 or 48 hours display no signs of distress or pain when docked .The law of docking lambs tails reflect this believe it or not with a desired period within which to dock the tails as far as I remember- not that the law stands for much in Ireland anymore …but be that as it may …
How about changing the law for puppies in a similar fashion ?
Or at least a big expensive consultancy report with pie charts and everything ……
Different bone structure for one thing, it’s also completely pointless.
Some would claim it’s a tradition as their father mutilated dogs too, it’s still pointless.
My terrier has the happiest tail wag I’ve ever seen, that has a point.
fair enough Jim – far be it for me to question nature in all its glory ……
I am actually more interested in the science of pain developing in the newborn mammal ….
It has to be shut off for childbirth if you think of it – or we’d never come out !
Their tails are so expressive. It is beyond me why anybody would want to mutilate a poor pup! I have two with tails on & wouldn’t change them. They are perfect
The new law permits certain working dogs to have their tail docked if a long tail could attract excessive injuries.
That’s common sense, but the lobster liberators would prefer to advance emotive counter-arguments and ignore the dog’s suffering.
Animals feel pain. End of story.
I am so angry.
Why didn’t they carry out this act a month earlier when it was legal!! So angry.
Docking their tails in the womb would have been a bit OTT.
That will teach them a lesson!
How about lobbing off there co#ks ! I think that could be a better deterrent
……………and if they are girls ?
Equality Chris – Equality !
The docking of working dogs tails is a practice that has been carried out for centuries in order to avoid tail damage and, consequently, this practice has significantly reduced the number of dogs requiring veterinary attention. This fact supports the widely held view that tail injury requiring veterinary attention is a relatively rare event. Hence, the Irish Kennel Club (IKC) is firmly of the view that a total ban on tail docking will lead to a significant rise in tail injuries for working dogs. The IKC is advocating for exemptions for certain working dogs as has happened in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The enactment of controls, similar to those in England, would ensure that there would be no abuse of the exemption as this would be a veterinary surgeon procedure only, which would be performed under laid down regulations.
The Irish Kennel Club opposes a total ban on tail docking for the reasons mentioned above and, whilst supporting a ban that prohibits tail docking for cosmetic or appearance sake, has genuine concerns that this total ban will be detrimental to the health and welfare of working dogs, which surely defeats the purpose of the initiative.
Veterinary Ireland, the Veterinary Council of Ireland,the Irish Veterinary Nurses Association, the ISPCA, the UCD School of Veterinary Medicine, Dogs Trust and the Blue Cross are all in favour of a complete prohibition.
The major injuries I or any other vet see to tails are those that are sustained when idiots dock them.
Oh, just so readers know, I led the campaign to have docking prohibited. I was President of Veterinary Ireland at the time of the Animal Health and Welfare Bill going through the Oireachtas. Vets will not do this procedure as it is unnecessary.
Pity you wouldn’t put your time into compulsory micro-chiping of all dogs and the abolishing of cosmetic in-breeding and cross breeding. I don’t doubt your belief or knowledge on tail docking nor do I know you but I don’t think you were reared in the countryside.
Ah piss off. Some breeds are just wrong looking with a long tail. Once it’s done at a young age and done I a clean way to avoid Infection the why not.
People get circumcised uno.
@paddy so because they are “wrong looking” it’s ok? Cop on. It’s cosmetic surgery for dogs more or less. No such thing as a working dog nowadays. People get circumcised yes but they dont get a feckin randomer to do it do there??
Paddy, comparing a piece of foreskin to a tail- an extension of the spine which dogs use to express a range of emotions. Try comparing it to you getting your mouth muscles cut so you can’t smile. Barbaric practise that should have been banned years ago. And all for what some pratt thinks ‘looks good’
BECAUSE PADDY IT IS ILLEGAL DO TO IT.
A lamb ring is the job
It’s illegal to use a lamb ring to dock pup’s tails. Whilst the fine may have been small the court did convict. It;s clear this act is illegal and will be prosecuted.
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