Image source, Dogs Trust

The Dogs Trust, external is the UK’s largest dog welfare charity.

It has twenty rehoming centres nationwide, including two in Scotland (Glasgow and West Calder).

It has rehomed approximately 1,000 dogs in Scotland in the last year alone.

In the Dog Trust submission to the committee it says: "We are firmly opposed to the docking of puppies’ tails, believing that puppies suffer unnecessary pain as a result of docking, and are deprived of a vital form of canine expression.

"We believe that surgical operations should not be undertaken unless necessary for therapeutic purposes, only with anesthetic, and therefore, that other than for veterinary medical reasons, the current ban on tail docking should remain for all breeds of dog."

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Runa Hanaghan from the Dogs Trust says her organistion is against docking.

She says puppies suffer unnecessary pain through the process of tail shortening.

Ms Hanaghan says that the dogs also lose a sense of expression.

She says there is bias in the survey.

Image source, BVA

From the BVA website, external:

"The BVA is the national representative body for the veterinary profession in the UK

"We guide our members throughout their careers, from student to retirement, with the support and knowledge they need to achieve their goals, and speak up for them on the issues that matter most."

In its submission to the committee it says: "The BVA is opposed to docking of puppies’ tails and therefore do not agree with the Scottish Ministers’ proposal to change the existing legislation to allow vets in Scotland to dock Spaniel and Hunt Point Retrievers puppies.

"We consider that puppies suffer unnecessary pain as a result of docking and are deprived of a vital form of canine expression."

Read more here. , external

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Melissa Donald from the British Veterinary Association says docking dogs' tails is painful and there is no pain relief.

Ms Donald says puppies sleep after the procedure because they are sore.

She disputes the injury scale where scratches and bruises are recorded and she says if her children get a scratch or a bruise she does not chop their hands off.

Image source, SGA

The Scottish Gamekeepers Association, external represents and defends the interest of gamekeepers, land and river ghilllies, stalkers, wildlife managers and rangers in Scotland both politially and int he media.

In its submission tot the committee the SGA says it believes an exemption to permit vets to shorten the tails of working Spaniels and Hunt Point Retrievers, by up to a third, within the first 5 days of life, is a progressive, evidence-based step for animal welfare.

Read more here., external

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Jim Dukes,recommended by the Scottish Gamekeepers Association, Dukes Vet Practice says the current legislation prevents docking.

Mr Dukes says it is very clear from his experience that there is a significant problem with working dogs, including police dogs.

He says having docked dogs tails the puppy is asleep after five minutes after the procedure, whereas adult injuries to tails are difficult to treat.

Mr Dukes says once they have been treated they can be quite traumatised.

MSPs will now take evidence from:

• Melissa Donald from the British Veterinary Association, external

• Jim Dukes,recommended by the Scottish Gamekeepers Association, Dukes Vet Practice , external
• Runa Hanaghan from the Dogs Trust, external
• Alan Marshall from the British Association for Shooting and Conservation, external
• Dr Tim Parkin, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Glasgow, external remains for this second panel

Dr Tim Parkin from the University of Glasgow's School of Veterinary Medicine says if legislation is introduced it should be targeted at spaniel and hunt point retrievers.

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Dr Tim Parkin says to prevent a single amputation of an adult dog's tail 415 puppies would need to have their tails docked.

The academic says: "We are not just talking about tail amputation."

He says it is about tail injuries that can be recurrent or become infected.

SNP MSP Emma Forbes asks about the main benefit of docking

Dr Tim Parkin says those dogs that were docked by a third or more were twenty times less likely to be exposed to injury in one season.

SNP MSP Emma Harper asks if there is room for a study to learn if using pre-med drugs may help to minimise the pain of tail docking.

Dr Tim Parkin says a puppy's liver may not be developed enough to use drugs.

He says to carry out research like this would require Home Office involvement.

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SNP MSP Emma Harper asks about the pain management in tail docking.

Ms Harper asks about the distress and pain caused to the puppy compared to the pain in an adult dog.

Dr Parkin says only the behavioural response of puppies has been studied and there is no evidence of the actual pain level.

He says it is very difficult to weigh up the differential pain levels.

Tory MSP Peter Chapman says he has never tail docked a dog but he has tail docked pigs and he is unsure how that could be done wrongly.

"It is over in a flash," says Mr Chapman.

Dr Tim Parkin says it is something that he thinks could be done wrongly if the vet was nervous or doing it for the first time.

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Committee convener Graeme Dey says the BVA warns of chronic pain if docking is not carried out properly.

Dr Tim Parkin says he does not know if docking is going on illegally and says he has not heard of any anecdotal evidence that it is.

He says vets undertaking tail docking should undergo training first.

Dr Parkin says: "There are plenty of ways you could make a mess of tail docking."

Tory MSP Finlay Carson asks how many dogs might be covered by the exemption and those that are likely to be docked.

Dr Parkin says he does not have those figures and the next panel might be better placed.

Tory MSP Alexander Burnett asks if there are other measures that estate owners can take to protect dogs.

Dr Parkin says he is not a hunting person but it is difficult to think of any other interventions.

Dr Tim Parkin from the University of Glasgow's School of Veterinary Medicine says the vets that would carry out the procedure would be those who are motivated enough and have seen enough injuries to working dogs.

Dr Parkin says they will understand who the individuals coming to them are.

Dr Parkin says it is important that any intervention is as targeted as possible,

He says the aim would be for as few puppies as possible to have their tails shortened if they are not going to be working dogs.

Dr Parkin says that it is always going to be the case that some puppies will be docked and then not go into work.

"We are in the position to but significantly better legislation in place than there is down south," he says.

Labour MSP Claudia Beamish asks about the numbers of working dogs in Scotland.

Dr Tim Parkin says the vast majority of breeders are not licensed so that information is lacking.

Ms Beamish ask if it would be difficult to collect that information.

Dr Parkin says the SGA and BASC would be the best people to answer this.

Mr Ruskell says the negative impact of tail shortening has not been looked at in terms of changing the behaviour of dogs.

Dr Parkin says "no, that wasn't part of the survey".

Mr Ruskell asks, if one dog in every hundred demonstrated a behavioural change following tail shortening, would this be cause for concern.

Dr Parkin says this was not a part of the study.

Image source, bbc

Green MSP Mark Ruskell asks if the work of vets across Scotland involves confrontational interactions.

Dr Tim Parkin says the breeds involved in that confrontation are not the dogs we're talking about today.

Mr Ruskell asks if the removal of a dogs tail affects its communication.

Dr Parkin says possibly but says only a third of the tail is removed in docking.