The BC SPCA continues its opposition to the removal of dogs. The animal agency has been expressing its stance for more than 20 years. “Barking is a normal behavior of dogs,” says Dr. Emilia Gordon, Senior Animal Health Officer for BC SPCA. “Removal deprives dogs of an important form of communication.” Not only can this cause them considerable stress, but also the removal of devotion fails to address the underlying reasons why dogs bark from the start. In some cases, says Dr. Gordon, dogs undergo surgery only to regrow their vocal cord tissues and their ability to bark to return to near normal levels. Even if the procedure is successful in reducing or preventing barking, dogs are at risk for complications such as:
Short-term: bleeding, edema, infection, cough and choking Long-term: chronic cough or choking, aspiration pneumonia and narrowing of the airways and scarring, which can lead to noisy breathing, difficulty breathing, exercise intolerance, heat intolerance and collapse
According to the BC SPCA, the practice has been banned in Alberta and Nova Scotia and may soon be banned in Quebec as well.
Decentralization is also prohibited in the United Kingdom, the European Union, several US states, New Zealand and Australia. Dr Gordon said veterinarians in BC were keenly concerned about animal welfare and believed they would welcome an opportunity to take the lead. “BC veterinarians have taken a collective stand on similar animal welfare issues in the past,” he says. “A decision by the BC College of Veterinarians to make dog removal an immoral veterinary practice would be an important step forward in the human treatment of animals in BC. If peeling is no longer considered an acceptable practice by the CVBC, any person performing the procedure and causing concern to an animal could face animal cruelty charges under the Animal Cruelty Prevention Act. For more information click here.
