Manitoba veterinarians vote to ban tail docking of dogs

Veterinarians in the province are no longer permitted to dock a dog's tail.

An overwhelming majority of Manitoba Veterinary Medical Association members voted to axe the controversial practice through an immediate bylaw amendment at its annual general meeting Friday.

The bylaw amendment, which was proposed by a member of the association, was passed following a multi-year consultation process with multiple stakeholders, an association spokesperson told CBC on Monday. 

"The feelings of the veterinary professionals in this province are that this is not a necessary procedure to perform on young animals given that most of the dogs that we see are not working dogs who are at risk of injuring their tails," said Dr. Jonas Watson, owner of Grant Park Animal Hospital.

Watson, who previously served as chair of the Winnipeg Humane Society's board of directors, says tail docking is primarily done for cosmetic purposes, but he's glad to see Manitoba's veterinarians no longer be allowed to partake in the practice.

"Our job is to first do no harm and amputating the tail of a two-day old puppy is the infliction of some harm for no clear reason in the great majority of cases," he said.

Tail docking "causes some undue pain and harm to young puppies, potentially causes long-term neurological consequences, and certainly limits the dog's ability to properly communicate with other dogs and people because they're no longer able to wag."

Veterinary members were given the opportunity to do two months' worth of consultation on tail docking this past summer, as well as in summer 2022, Watson said. 

Tail docking of some dog breeds is done based on a belief that their non-working members experience risks similar to working dogs, but it's more commonly done to conform to a distinctive breed appearance or standard. 

'Animal protection law really falls short'

The Canadian Kennel Club also partook in the consultation last summer.

The club's breed standards do not require dogs to have their tails docked to compete in competition and allow for choice regarding breeds that have been traditionally docked based on the function of the dog rather than for cosmetic reasons.

An August 2024 letter to Manitoba's vet association urged its council to "continue to allow licensed veterinarians in Manitoba who have the expertise and experience with dog breeds to determine what is appropriate with regards to tail docking."

The letter also says that Manitoba veterinarians know "what is best for the health and well-being of their dogs, including the docking of tails."

Kaitlyn Mitchell only wishes the provincial association would have voted on banning the practice sooner.

Mitchell, a Winnipeg-based lawyer and the director of legal advocacy with Animal Justice, said the association's decision brings Manitoba in line with other provincial vet associations that have taken a similar step.

Nova Scotia, Quebec and PEI have all passed strong laws to prohibit anyone from tail docking and ear cropping on dogs and declawing cats.

"We've seen veterinary associations across Canada are increasingly moving to ban tail docking and other painful mutilations, and we've actually seen a few provinces follow up and pass laws to prohibit anyone in the province from engaging in those types of procedures," she said.

According to Mitchell, the next step is for the province to make a change that prevents local breeders from continuing to dock the tails of dogs.

She says Manitoba's Animal Care Act needs amendments of its own.

"We've been raising the issue of updating the Animal Care Act for a long time now, and this is really just one of many ways in which the province's animal protection law really falls short and needs to be brought up to date because it's really old and frankly quite outdated," Mitchell said.

Watson contends the Veterinary Medical Act would also need some changes if breeders were to no longer be allowed to continue docking.

And while he owns a corgi with a docked tail, Watson doesn't think one way or another about whether he'd have wanted his pet to have a tail or no tail.

"But going forward all of his relatives in the future will have tails," he said.

Watson surmises that some people will think "that the sky may fall" and that breeders may resort to "some underground means of [docking]," but simply says it will take Manitobans a little bit of time to adjust to seeing some dogs who traditionally have had their tails docked appear with them.

"Dogs use their tails as a rudder for swimming. Dogs use their tails as a communications skill to show what they might be thinking or feeling. So tails have a great deal of utility, and when you remove them, that limits the dogs ability to function as a dog in some ways," he said.

"So it's nice to leave animals as they were intended to be."