Cropping is the removal of part or all of the external flaps of an animal's ear. The procedure sometimes involves bracing and taping the remainder of the ears to train them to point upright. Almost exclusively performed on dogs, it is an old practice that was once done for perceived health, practical or cosmetic reasons. Veterinary science states there is no medical or physical advantage to the animal from the procedure,Slatter, Douglas H. (2002
''Textbook of small animal surgery''
3rd edition. Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders (imprint of Elsevier Health Sciences), 2896 pages, , p.1746 leading to concerns of

animal cruelty Cruelty to animals, also called animal abuse, animal neglect or animal cruelty, is the infliction of suffering or Injury, harm by humans upon animals, either by omission (neglect) or by commission. More narrowly, it can be the causing of harm ...

over performing unnecessary surgery on animals. In modern times, cropping is banned in many nations, but is still legal in a limited number of countries. Where permitted, it is seen only in certain breeds of dog, such as

pit bull Pit bull is an umbrella term for several Dog type, types of dog believed to have descended from bull and terriers. In the United States, the term is usually considered to include the American Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, A ...

and bull terrier type breeds, the

Doberman Pinscher The Dobermann is a German breed of medium-large working dog of pinscher type. It was originally bred in Thuringia in about 1890 by Louis Dobermann, a tax collector.

, Schnauzer,

Great Dane The Great Dane is a German list of dog breeds, breed of large mastiff-sighthound, which descends from hunting dogs of the Middle Ages used to hunt bears, wild boar, and deer. They were also used as guardian dogs of German nobility. It is one o ...

Boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: *Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing * Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

and

Cane Corso The Cane Corso is an Italian dog breed, breed of mastiff. It is usually kept as a companion dog or guard dog; it may also be used to flock guardian, protect livestock. In the past it was used for hunting large Game (hunting), game, and also to c ...

History and purposes

Historically, cropping was performed on

working dog A working dog is a dog used to perform practical tasks, as opposed to pet or companion dogs. Definitions vary on what a working dog is, they are sometimes described as any dog trained for and employed in meaningful work; other times as any ...

s as it was believed it would decrease the risk of health complications, such as

ear infections Otitis is a general term for inflammation in ear or ear infection, inner ear infection, middle ear infection of the ear, in both humans and other animals. When infection is present, it may be viral or bacterial. When inflammation is present due to ...

hematoma A hematoma, also spelled haematoma, or blood suffusion is a localized bleeding outside of blood vessels, due to either disease or trauma including injury or surgery and may involve blood continuing to seep from broken capillaries. A hematoma is ...

s. Crops were also performed on dogs that might need to fight, either while hunting animals that might fight back or while defending livestock herds from predators, or because they were used for pit-fighting sports such as dog fighting or

bear-baiting Bear-baiting was a historical blood sport in which a chained bear and one or more dogs were forced to fight one another. It also sometimes involved pitting a bear against another animal. Until the 19th century, it was commonly performed in Gr ...

. : possible duplicate page : possibly an equivalent page, and better-documented topic-authority :

Early history

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

practices were to crop dogs’ ears to avoid damage and injury in fighting and hunting, with

tail docking The tail is the elongated section at the rear end of a bilaterian animal's body; in general, the term refers to a distinct, flexible appendage extending backwards from the midline of the torso. In vertebrate animals that evolved to lose their ta ...

practiced to avoid the transmission of

rabies Rabies is a viral disease that causes encephalitis in humans and other mammals. It was historically referred to as hydrophobia ("fear of water") because its victims panic when offered liquids to drink. Early symptoms can include fever and abn ...

Guardian breeds

Cropping the ears of livestock guardian dogs was, and may still be, traditional in some pastoral cultures. The ears of these guardian dogs—such as the

Caucasian Shepherd Dog The Caucasian Shepherd Dog or Caucasian Ovcharka is a large livestock guardian dog native to the Caucasus region, notably Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Dagestan. It was bred in the Soviet Union from about 1920 from dogs of the Caucasus M ...

and the Maremmano-Abruzzese Sheepdog—were traditionally cropped to reduce the possibility of wolves or opponent-dogs getting a grip on them. According to one description, cropping was carried out when puppies were weaned, at about six weeks. It was performed by an older or expert shepherd, using the ordinary blade shears used for

shearing Sheep shearing is the process by which the woollen fleece of a sheep is cut off. The person who removes the sheep's wool is called a '' shearer''. Typically each adult sheep is shorn once each year (depending upon dialect, a sheep may be sai ...

, well sharpened. The ears were cut either to a point like those of a fox, or rounded like those of a bear. The removed auricles were first grilled, then given to the puppy to eat, in the belief that it would make him more "sour". An alternative method was to remove the ears from newborn puppies by twisting them off; however, this left almost no external ear on the dog. Both ear-cropping and the use of spiked collars were described more than three hundred years ago, as a defense against wolves.

Fighting

Similar to guardian breeds, in sport fighting, cropping is used to minimize the risk of ears being bitten and held. The ears were an easy target for an opposing animal to grab or tear. Dogs may have their ears cropped, legally or not, for participation in dogfights, themselves illegal in many jurisdictions.

Modern practices

In 2000, veterinarian Bruce Fogle wrote:

The procedure

The veterinary procedure is known as "cosmetic

otoplasty Otoplasty (, , "ear" + , , "to shape") is a procedure for correcting the deformities and defects of the Pinna (anatomy), auricle (Ear, external ear), whether these defects are congenital defect, congenital conditions (e.g. microtia, anotia, etc.) o ...

", and involves the removal of a portion of the pinnae, the external flap of the ear. Cropping is usually performed on puppies at 7 to 12 weeks of age.Practice of Dogs Ear cropping
icDoggie's Paradise. Accessed September 2011 After 16 weeks, the procedure is more painful and the animal has greater pain memory. Usually up to of the ear flap is removed in a cropping operation, and the wound edges are closed with stitches. The ears are then bandaged. Long crops are taped until they heal into the proper shape. The procedure is recommended to be undertaken under general anaesthesia; opponents' primary concerns revolve around post-operative pain. American veterinary schools do not generally teach cropping (or docking), and thus veterinarians who perform the practice have to learn on the job. There are also problems with amateurs performing ear-cropping, particularly at

puppy mill A puppy mill, also known as a puppy farm, is a commercial dog breeding facility characterized by quick breeding and poor conditions. Although no standardized legal definition for "puppy mill" exists, a definition was established in ''Avenson v. ...

s. In the last 100 years or so, ear cropping has been performed more often for cosmetic purposes. In nations and states where it remains legal, it is usually practiced because it is required as part of a

breed standard In animal husbandry or animal fancy, a breed standard is a description of the characteristics of a hypothetical or ideal example of a breed. The description may include phenotype, physical or morphology (biology), morphological detail, genotype, g ...

for exhibition at dog shows.Ear cropping and tail docking
The Canadian Federation of Humane Societies/Fédération des sociétés canadiennes d'assistance aux animaux (CFHS/FSCAA). Accessed September 2011. In the US, although tail-docking, dewclaw removal, and

neutering Neutering, from the Latin ('of neither sex'), is the removal of a non-human animal's sex organ, reproductive organ, either all of it or a considerably large part. The male-specific term is castration, while spaying is usually reserved for female ...

procedures remain common, ear-cropping is declining, except within the dog show industry. Some show ring competitors state they would discontinue the practice altogether if they could still "win in the ring."

Examples of cropping styles

Animal welfare and law

The practice is illegal across most of Europe, including all countries that have ratified the European Convention for the Protection of Pet Animals, and most member countries of the

Fédération Cynologique Internationale The (; FCI; ) is the largest international federation of national kennel clubs and purebred registries. The FCI is based in Thuin, Belgium and has 98 members and contract partners (one from each country). History The FCI was founded in 1911 un ...

. It is illegal in regions of Spain and in some Canadian provinces. Ear-cropping is still widely practiced in the United States and parts of Canada, with approximately 130,000 puppies in the United States thought to have their ears cropped each year. The

American Kennel Club The American Kennel Club (AKC) is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit breed registry, registry of purebred dog pedigree (animal), pedigrees in the United States. In addition to maintaining its pedigree registry, this kennel club also promotes and sanctions eve ...

(AKC) and

Canadian Kennel Club The Canadian Kennel Club (or CKC; ), founded in 1888 and chartered under the Animal Purebred Act, is one of the national kennel clubs of Canada. It maintains breed registries services for those purebred dogs approved for its control by Agricultur ...

both permit the practice. The AKC position is that ear cropping and tail docking are "acceptable practices integral to defining and preserving breed character and/or enhancing good health." While some individual states have attempted to ban ear-cropping, there is strong opposition from some dog breed organizations, who cite health concerns and tradition. The

American Veterinary Medical Association The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) is an American not-for-profit association founded in 1863 that represents more than 105,000 veterinarians. The AVMA provides information resources, continuing education opportunities, publicat ...

"opposes ear cropping and tail docking of dogs when done solely for cosmetic purposes" and "encourages the elimination of ear cropping and tail docking from breed standards". In 2009, veterinary chain

Banfield Pet Hospital Banfield Pet Hospital is a privately owned company based in Vancouver, Washington, United States, that operates veterinary clinics. Part of the Mars Inc. family of companies, Banfield owns clinics in the United States, Mexico, and the United K ...

announced they would no longer do tail docking, ear cropping or devocalization on dogs. It has been suggested the cropping may interfere with a dog's ability to communicate using ear signals, however there has been no scientific comparative study of ear communication in cropped and uncropped dogs.Coren, Stanley (2001
''How to speak dog: mastering the art of dog-human communication''
New York: Simon & Schuster chap. 9 ages unnumbered/ref>

Legal status by country

Non-canine animals

Cropping of large portions of the pinnae of other animals is rare, although the clipping of identifying shapes in the pinnae of livestock, called earmarks, was common prior to the introduction of compulsory ear tags.Lexique Camarguais
(in French) Manade Devaux. "Lexicon of Camargue terms" Accessed September 2011 Removal of portions of the ear of

laboratory mice The laboratory mouse or lab mouse is a small mammal of the order Rodentia which is bred and used for scientific research or feeders for certain pets. Laboratory animal sources for these mice are usually of the species ''Mus musculus''. They a ...

neutered Neutering, from the Latin ('of neither sex'), is the removal of a non-human animal's reproductive organ, either all of it or a considerably large part. The male-specific term is castration, while spaying is usually reserved for female animals. C ...

feral cats A feral cat or a stray cat is an unowned domestic cat (''Felis catus'') that lives outdoors and avoids human contact; it does not allow itself to be handled or touched, and usually remains hidden from humans. Feral cats may breed over dozens ...

for identification, i.e. ear-notching or ear-tipping, is still used. The practice of cropping for cosmetic purposes is rare in non-canines, although some selectively bred animals have naturally small ears which can be mistaken for cropping.

Notes

References

{{reflist, 45em, refs= {{Cite web, url=https://www.coe.int/en/web/conventions/full-list, title=Chart of signatures and ratifications of Treaty 125 - European Convention for the Protection of Pet Animals, website=Treaty Office, date=October 14, 2020 Dogs Cruelty to animals Dog health Animal welfare