Hampshire dog breeder banned for allowing puppies' ears cropped

A Hampshire-based dog breeder has been banned from keeping dogs for five years after allowing puppies to have their ears cropped.

29-year-old Frazer Hunter, of Lawson Close in Swanwick, admitted to four animal welfare offences following an investigation by the RSPCA.

Four puppies in his care were found to have had their ears cropped before being sold onto new owners, between July 2021 and September 2022.

The charity said that Hunter was 'ignorant and unaware' of the distress the practice would cause to animals, and that it was not a premeditated attempt to base his business arounf the docking of ears.

In the veterinary report given in court, it was explained that a dog’s ears can only be cropped by a veterinary surgeon for purposes of medical treatment such as cancer or severe physical injury where surgical reconstruction of the ear would be impossible.

Mutilation of the ear pinna for cosmetic reasons is banned within the UK as it causes suffering and pain.

Even vets are prohibited from carrying out the surgery with cosmetic ear cropping prohibited in the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons professional code of conduct too.

The vet said:

“In addition to the acute inflammation and pain associated with the cropping process there may also be a number of longer term welfare concerns related to the tissue removal and altered ear posture of the dog.

"As with any tissue removal there will be associated chronic scarring and stimulation of associated nerves which may result in chronic pain.

"The altered anatomy of the erect ear pinna and open ear canal may also predispose the ear to collecting foreign material such as grass seeds when the dog runs through long grass, exposing the dog to potential ear irritation and possibly secondary bacterial and yeast infection.

“Dogs communicate with each other via body language in a similar way to humans and part of this communication involves ear movement and position.

"Mutilation of the ear pinna results in a dramatically altered ear shape which may hinder the dog’s ability to communicate effectively. This may lead to future behavioural problems.”

Investigating RSPCA Inspector Miranda Albinson said:

"Ear cropping is a painful and illegal procedure that carries no benefits at all to the dogs.

"We hope this case sends a strong message to anyone involved with ear cropping that this will not be tolerated."