Ear Cropping

 

Ear Cropping has been a big issue on social media lately and not many people understand the why.  

It is important to discuss the different dog ear shapes before as not all pointed dog ears are cropped. The ear shape is based on the outer part of the ear called the pinna. 

According to The Kennel Club (UK) there are 10 different ear types that all dog breeds will fall into.

The Bat Ear - To fall into this category of ear the ear must be erect and broad to the base with a rounded outline at the top and the opening of the ear directly facing forward.

The Button Ear - For this ear the pinna (ear flap) is folded forwards with the tip of the ear close to the skull and pointing to the eye, so they are covering the opening of the ear. 

Example of Button ears

Example of Bat ears

The Candle Flame Ear - This ear is named after it's appearance, the ear is erect and has a broad base, it narrows towards the pointed tip giving a flame like appearance. 

The Drop Ear - This is the floppy ear, the pinna is pendulous which means it drops down. The opening of the ear if fully covered. 

Example of Candle Flame ears

Example of Drop ears

The Erect Ear - This ear is upright and pointed, often giving the dog a more alert look. The opening of the ear is clear and the face forwards. It can also be called the wolf ear. 

The Filbert Ear - This is a type of dropped ear where it is more of a rounded triangular shape, and named after Filbert nuts (Hazelnuts). 

Example of Filbert ears

Example of Erect ears

The Flying Ear  - This is a term used when the ears are held incorrectly and therefore doesn't fall into any type fully. They are often held too high and/or away from the skull.

The Hooded Ear - This is again a variation of the erect ear. The pinna is pointed upwards but the tip of the ear curls forwards and on the side forming a hood.

Example of Flying ears

Example of Hooded ear

The Rose Ear - This ear is a variation of the drop ear, often in breeds with smaller ears. The ear folds over and back revealing the opening of the ear. 

The Semi-drop Ear - this is an erect ear where the tip of the ear is slightly folded over, often the opening of the ear is open 

Example of Semi-drop ears

Example of Rose ear

  

So now you know about the ear types let's look at what ear cropping actually is. Ear cropping is the removal of a part or all of the external part of the pinna (ear flap). There are three different lengths that are common, the long, medium and short. All are normally performed on puppies that are 7 to 12 weeks old. This is due to the medium and long crop having a better chance of success with the crop. The images below are of the different crop lengths (Left to right: Long Crop, Medium Crop and Short Crop).

Now the surgery for ear cropping, in countries where it is legal, like in America, the Vet will perform this surgery under anaesthetic in a sterile environment, with pain relief being given post operatively. In cases of the Long and Medium crop the ears then need to be taped to a hard object until fully healed when the ears will then look like an erect type. However in some cases this procedure is done without anaesthesia or pain relief, which increases the risk of infection but also impacts the welfare of the animal, this is because the surgery cuts through cartilage which is painful and takes weeks to heal and if being taped for a long crop then every bandage change will cause more pain.

Dogs need their ears and ear cropping can reduce some of their natural communication methods. Dogs use their ear placement (or ear carriage) to show how they are feeling, along with many other factors, removing their ear pinna (especially fully as with the short crop) it makes it more difficult to read the dogs body language and could increase the risk of bites, especially if the dog is nervous.

Often it is claimed that there are health benefits to cropping a dogs ears such as preventing ear infections (otitis externa). Many of the breeds that are being cropped such as Dobermans and American Bulldogs are not those the veterinary profession would consider at an increase risk of infection. The surgery that is commonly performed to avoid reoccurrence of otitis externa aims to open or remove the ear canal rather than reduce the pinna, this assuming that ear cropping has no medical purpose, and in studies that have looked at the prevalence of otitis externa, there is no mention of ear type that effects the likelihood of infection.

Along with the prevention of ear infections, ear cropping is said to improve the hearing of the dog, however there is no studies that provide evidence to authenticate these claims.

In England and Wales ear cropping is illegal, according to the Animal Welfare Act 2006, Section 5, this is because it is carried out mainly for cosmetic reasons, wanting a dog to look tougher or scarier than it actually is. However this should not be confused by a medical procedure called pinnectomy (Pinna removal), which can look like a crop, it is common in white cats with skin cancer of the ears. So you would think that there are not too many cases of illegal ear cropping, however the RSPCA have reported a 1243% increase in ear cropping cases in the from 2015 to 2021 (467 reports in since 2015). This may partly be down to increased campaigning and awareness of the issue, but there are fears it could have been driven by celebrity culture and social media.

How is this happening? A great question that can be tricky to answer!

Unfortunately the cropped look is becoming more normalised and in some cases glamorised due to an increase in celebrities owning cropped dogs and that cropped dogs are used on clothing and other merchandise and in advertisements.

It seems like there is an increase of dogs being imported from countries where the procedure is legal, you can see this a lot with personal protection dogs, they have been imported from European lines and all have their ears cropped between 7 - 12 weeks. This could be spurred on by celebrities and social media influencers, showing their dog with cropped ears. It can also be seen in dogs that have been rescued from abroad, where the cropping of ears is often done for fighting dogs. 

However it seems that the rise is due to one of the two reasons:

1) Dogs bred in the UK being taken overseas for the procedure and then brought back to the UK to be sold, which is illegal under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, Section 5.

2) Some breeders are carrying out the procedure illegally in the UK, using Ear cropping kits online, often not using any anaesthesia or pain relief.

Nobody knows of the true cause of this rise but one thing is for certain and it is time for action to stop this from continuing to happen. There have been calls for a ban on the importation of dogs with cropped ears but this could impact on those legitimately moving, such as families relocating or dogs being recued from abroad, but the government, veterinary professions and animal welfare charities need to work together to find an effective way to find the right solution for animal welfare.

One thing for sure is that ear cropping needs to stop being normalised, and incidents or concerns over the carrying out or arranging of ear cropping should be reported to the appropriate place.

 

References

American Veterinary Medical Association, 2013. Welfare Implications of Ear Cropping-Dogs. [online] American Veterinary Medical Association. Available at: https://www.avma.org/resources-tools/literature-reviews/welfare-implications-ear-cropping-dogs [Accessed 21 January 2023].

Dos Santos, D., 2021. Why an alarming new trend has vets saying, ‘Cut the crop!’. [online] British Veterinary Association. Available at: https://www.bva.co.uk/news-and-blog/blog-article/why-an-alarming-new-trend-has-vets-saying-cut-the-crop/#:~:text=Ear%20cropping%20is%20illegal%20and,of%20dogs%20with%20cropped%20ears. [Accessed 21 January 2023].

Hargreaves, R., 2021. A disturbing rise in ear cropping cases in practice. [online] British Veterinary Association. Available at: https://www.bva.co.uk/news-and-blog/blog-article/a-disturbing-rise-in-ear-cropping-cases-in-practice/ [Accessed 21 January 2023].

Kernot, H., 2017. Vet raises ear crop concern following practice encounter. [online] Vet Times. Available at: https://www.vettimes.co.uk/news/vet-raises-ear-crop-concern-following-practice-encounter/ [Accessed 21 January 2023].

RSPCA, 2021. End ear cropping: Dogs need their ears - and here's why. [online] Rspca.org.uk. Available at: https://www.rspca.org.uk/-/blog-ear-cropping [Accessed 21 January 2023].

The Kennel Club, 2021. Glossary of canine terms. [online] Thekennelclub.org.uk. Available at: https://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/breed-standards/the-kennel-club-glossary-of-canine-terms/ [Accessed 21 January 2023]. 

RSPCA, 2022. 'Alarming' rise in reports of ear cropping for third year running prompts RSPCA concerns. [online] Rspca.org.uk. Available at:  https://www.rspca.org.uk/-/news-alarming-rise-in-reports-of-ear-cropping-for-third-year-running-prompts-rspca-concerns [Accessed 21 January 2023].