Public vote overwhelmingly supports tail docking

The Countryside Alliance has published an independent poll which clearly shows that the majority of the general public do not want a ban on tail docking.

The vote is split fairly evenly with close on one third wanting the status quo to remain, another third supporting the option for just working dogs and only 36% want a complete ban.

Considering that the public have been bombarded with hysterical misinformation from the RSPCA, two thirds of the public supporting the continuation of tail docking is a remarkable result in its favour.

We hope that our politicians take note, that these results reflect the wishes of their constituents and that with over 1 million docked dogs in the UK, tail docking is not a matter affecting just a few of them. We trust that MP's carefully consider how they vote on March 8th, and base their vote on fact not hearsay.

The poll, carried out by ORB* for the Countryside Alliance, shows that just 39% of people think that the docking of working dogs should be banned. The survey asked:

Typically a vet may dock (shorten) a dog’s tail when the dog is young for two reasons – one is for cosmetic reasons (i.e. to enter the dog into a competition), the other is for working dogs (such as police dogs and working spaniels) to prevent serious tail injuries to them. Which of the following would you prefer?

Banning this procedure for all types of dogs 36%

Banning this procedure for working dogs 3%

Total – banning for working dogs 39%

Banning this procedure for cosmetic reasons 34%

None of these – this procedure should be allowed to continue 27%

  *ORB interviewed a nationally representative sample of 1,003 adults aged 18+ throughout England , Scotland and Wales between 10 th – 12 th February 2006. ORB is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its Code of Conduct.