Docking (animal)

Docking is the intentional removal of part of an animal's tail or, sometimes, ears. The term cropping is more commonly used in reference to the cropping of ears, while docking more commonly—but not exclusively—refers to the tail; the term tailing is used, also. The term has its origins in the living flesh of the tail, commonly known as the dock, from which the animal's tail hairs grow. Tail-docking in pigs is typically carried out without anesthetic when the piglet is three to four days old, causing acute trauma and pain. Commercially raised domestic pigs kept in close quarters have their tails docked to prevent chewing or biting each other's tails. Pig producers in Brazil and Thailand have stopped tail docking for animal welfare reasons. Routine tail-docking without anesthesia is illegal in the EU. The practice continues among large US pig producers. Many breeds of sheep have their tails docked to reduce the build-up of faeces which can encourage fly strike. Mulesing is also used for that purpose. Docking also makes it easier to view a grown ewe's udders to detect potential problems. While tail docking is an effective preventive method in some cases, if it is not carried out correctly it may result in other problems such as ill thrift or rectal prolapse. In lambs, tail docking at the distal end of the caudal folds tends to minimize docking effects on incidence of rectal prolapse. Docking at that length has been recommended by the American Veterinary Medical Association. In the UK the law states that for sheep docked tails should at a minimum cover the anus in male lambs, and the vulva in female lambs. These minimum lengths are also recommended in Canada. Depending on the animal and the culture, docking may be done by cutting (knife or other blade), searing (gas or electrically heated searing iron), or constriction methods, i.e. rubber ring elastration. The Canadian Veterinary Medical Association indicates that pain, stress, recovery time and complications associated with docking of livestock will be minimized by docking when animals are under one week of age.

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Related concepts (5)

Sheep

Sheep (: sheep) or domestic sheep (Ovis aries) are a domesticated, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Although the term sheep can apply to other species in the genus Ovis, in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated sheep. Like all ruminants, sheep are members of the order Artiodactyla, the even-toed ungulates. Numbering a little over one billion, domestic sheep are also the most numerous species of sheep. An adult female is referred to as a ewe (juː), an intact male as a ram, occasionally a tup, a castrated male as a wether, and a young sheep as a lamb.

Cattle

Cattle (Bos taurus) are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus Bos. Mature female cattle are referred to as cows and mature male cattle are referred to as bulls. Colloquially, young female cattle (heifers), young male cattle (bullocks), and castrated male cattle (steers) are also referred to as "cows". Cattle are commonly raised as livestock for meat (beef or veal, see beef cattle), for milk (see dairy cattle), and for hides, which are used to make leather.

Docking (animal)