Tail docking puts markets 'at risk'

Veterinarians and dog breeders calling for New Zealand to allow docking of dog tails are putting an international spotlight on farmers who continue to cut off the tails of lambs and dairy cows, a veterinary leader said.

Docking of cow tails should be stopped for the same ethical reasons that most New Zealand vets are opposing the docking of tails in some dog breeds, Veterinary Association chief executive Murray Gibb said.

In the case of both dogs and cows, the argument came down to science and good ethics versus tradition, and, "as in all such cases, tradition dies hard", he said.

"The Tatua Dairy Company has stated it will cease to collect milk from herds that are docked, within the next few years," he said.

Some New Zealand dairy farmers cut off the tails of their cows, usually because when milking cups are put on the animals' udders, they instinctively flick their urine-soaked tails at just the right height to hit the milker in the face.

Cows without tails have also been claimed to have cleaner udders, with less potential to contaminate milk, or spread leptospirosis to farm workers.

But Dr Gibb said consumers buying New Zealand dairy products in affluent markets are increasingly looking askance at such practices as tail docking in dairy cows, and seeking assurances that animal products come from animals farmed according to good animal welfare practices.

This was economically important because New Zealand was probably more dependent on the export of animal products than any other first world trading nation, he said.

New Zealand's good reputation as a country which looked after its animals required constant evolution in attitudes. Dr Gibb was commenting on the closing of submissions on a member's bill to ban the docking of dogs' tails.

The Animal Welfare (Restriction on Docking of Dogs' Tails) Bill was drafted by Labour MP Dianne Yates and introduced in August last year.

It calls for a ban on tail docking except where it is necessary for the dog's welfare because the tail has been damaged by disease or injury.

Mr Gibb said that the docking of lambs' tails was entirely justified because it lowered the incidence of fly strike in sheep, and that practice would continue.

But although the docking of dogs' tails was perceived by some people as a relatively minor issue, it was one that had a high profile.

"The list of countries that have restricted or banned the tail docking of dogs is growing. We run the risk of looking conspicuous by our absence," he said.

- NZPA