Opinion on Ear lopping/tail docking

[No Coop No Problem]

I wouldn't say god has anything to do with it. But animals evolve in certain ways for survival, yes. Wolves need dew claws to make sharp turns, climb steep hills and mountains, hold down prey and food to tear off chunks, etc. Our domestic dogs haven't lost them completely because they still serve a purpose, but free floaters are a product of selective breeding over time. Companion animals don't necessarily need them, but working dogs might.

It makes zero sense from both theistic and evolutionary perspectives

You're correct that a working dog may need dewclaws whereas a companion dog may not, however it's also completely non-essential to chop off body parts of a dog that spends most of it's life on a couch

One observation is some posters are against cropping and docking but think nothing of leaving domesticated poultry out in the woods or free range to fend for themselves.

Personally I would rather live free and die at 50 rather than live to 70 in a prison

Success and failure create each other. If you deprive animals of calamity you also deprive them of prosperity

I don't believe that any incarnated animal will be healthier and happier than a free one, nor will any system based on incarceration be superior to a system based on freedom

Most animals will tell you themselves which they prefer if you simply open the door

With today's surgeries humans are probably the most cropped and docked animal.

This is sadly true. It's evil that human babies have unnecessary cosmetic surgery forced on them without their consent

 

[Farmgirl1878]

I think it really depends on whether the dog is a pet or something else. I can see an argument being made if it’s a safety or health issue, but unless it truly can be the difference between the animal being severely injured, maimed, or killed, I say nope. I’d never dock ears or tails on a pet. And if it has to be done, the vet will do it, not me. Just my opinion.

 

[Apis mellifera]

Most animals will tell you themselves which they prefer if you simply open the door

That's the difference between domesticated and wild animals. If I open the door my dog won't leave the wood stove. Spaying, neutering, and all the other stuff we do to animals is a part of animal husbandry and life. There's a movement to remove all animal ownership so be careful what you wish for.

 

[Squawkers]

There's a movement to remove all animal ownership so be careful what you wish for.

WHAT?! Someone is gonna get my fist in their face...

 

[Apis mellifera]

But how are these comparable? A chicken being allowed to do what comes naturally to it, vs a dog being forced into cosmetic surgery... I'm not seeing a connection here.

I don't know, is buying chicks at a box store or mail order and raising them only to turn them loose not cruel? There's nothing natural about keeping poultry.

 

[No Coop No Problem]

That's the difference between domesticated and wild animals. If I open the door my dog won't leave the wood stove.

Understandable in a cold climate. Chickens more so. They're tropical animals by nature. One can't have chickens free in Canada anymore than a banana plant

Spaying, neutering, and all the other stuff we do to animals is a part of animal husbandry and life.

Spaying and neutering is very different from amputating healthy body parts

I don't know, is buying chicks at a box store or mail order and raising them only to turn them loose not cruel?

Do you know a single soul who has done such a thing?

 

[TOMTE]

I don't know, is buying chicks at a box store or mail order and raising them only to turn them loose not cruel? There's nothing natural about keeping poultry.

Turning them loose to completely fend for themselves without mitigating potential danger is cruel, sure. Letting them free range and having safe places for them to retreat to is not cruel. Sometimes you'll lose some, whether to predators or the weather or illness. Same thing will happen if you keep them in a coop or run. No matter how secure you make it, something will always manage to happen. That's life.

Personally (and that's the key here, we are supposed to tolerate and accept others' ways of keeping their flocks here on BYC, short of actual cruel, abusive, neglectful conditions), I'd rather run the risk of predators and see my girls happily foraging in the yard and the edge of the woods during the day, doing what instinct drives them to do, than keep them contained to a small area where they go stir crazy.

If there's nothing natural about keeping poultry, then there's nothing natural about keeping any sort of livestock, or any other animal. Then how do you explain some species of ants keeping aphids as livestock to farm their honeydew?

 

[No Coop No Problem]

If there's nothing natural about keeping poultry, then there's nothing natural about keeping any sort of livestock, or any other animal. Then how do you explain some species of ants keeping aphids as livestock to farm their honeydew?

I actually have some ants here that are farming scale insects on bamboo. It's the craziest thing

 

[Squawkers]

I have already given my opinion on the matter. I am not against it. I would not crop or dock my puppies if I had any, but I do not fault anyone who does. Unless hard evidence comes out that cropping or docking causes lasting harm or damage on the dog than I stand by my opinion. Surely this is not the worst crime to dogs that humans have committed? I can think of far worse things we have done in the name of "cuteness". For one being is the absolutely horrible breeding being done here in the US. People breed these pugs and frenchies with horribly squished faces who can't breath and have issues later in life. Why? Because its "cute". It is not cute, it is cruel. And don't get me started on the doodles. People breed dogs for money, and they do not care at all what the product is. Whether the puppies die at 3 years old to health issues or if it has to be put down at 3 to behavioral issues. I would much rather someone cut off the tail of a healthy, well-bred dog because its "cute" than someone breed horrible unhealthy and neurotic dogs together because they are "cute" and they want money.

 

[lagrange chicks]

We had a silver fawn Dobie female (rare color), she was stunning with her ears cropped and tail docked. In guard dog breeds the ears are cropped so a person cannot grab them. When a person gets ahold of a dogs ear the dog is no longer a threat.