Battersea Dogs Home horrified at 'barbaric' trend after puppy's ears stitched up with household cotton thread

Battersea Dogs and Cats Home has shared its horror at a ‘barbaric’ practice where a dog’s ears were stitched together with household cotton thread after being cropped. Ear cropping is illegal in the UK and considered a form of animal cruelty.

Ear cropping involves surgically altering the shape of a dog’s ears, often for cosmetic purposes or to conform to breed standards. The procedure involves cutting and shaping the ear tissue, which can be painful and result in permanent disfigurement and health issues for the dog.

The dogs’ home said a Doberman puppy called ‘Milo’ came to them at six months old and not only had he had his ears cropped, he was also continuing to suffer as a result of the procedure. They discovered that whoever cropped Milo had used everyday cotton thread rather than surgical stitches to sew his wounded ears closed. They neglected to ever remove the stitches, leading to his unclean skin healing over the thread.

Doberman puppy called ‘Milo’

Someone had also docked his tail – another illegal practice in this country. Thankfully Battersea’s vets were able to repair the damage and make sure Milo was happy and healthy before he went to a new loving home.

Other suffering dogs they’ve seen include a young dog, called Luna, that had one of her ears hacked off. Luna arrived at Battersea as an underweight stray with a Hungarian microchip and her tail docked and one ear very badly cropped, but the other still intact. Staff suspect whoever performed the procedure realised they’d made an error and stopped halfway through

Meanwhile Barry was found on the street and had a Bulgarian microchip, a face covered in scars and ears so cropped there was barely any flesh left. Fortunately, both dogs received all of the love and expert care they needed to help them on the road to recovery after their ordeal and Battersea found them both lovely new homes.

Barry

Despite being illegal in the UK, it is not currently illegal to get a dog’s ears cropped in another country and then import them in to the UK. Battersea is campaigning for this legal loophole to be closed and asking people to email the Prime Minister to bring back the Kept Animal Bill. Unethical breeders are taking advantage of this legal loophole to keep supplying demand for these suffering dogs, the charity argues.

Battersea’s Rehoming & Welfare Manager, Sarah Hughes, said: “Every time a dog with butchered ears comes through our gates, my heart breaks a little more. Despite it having been illegal to crop a dog’s ears for many years, that doesn’t seem to be stopping people from finding a way to still do it. We’re seeing an increasing number of dogs who’ve endured the barbaric procedure being brought to us – many of which are strays with microchips from other countries, so we suspect they’ve been imported into the UK before being sold or abandoned, all of which is still shockingly legal.”

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