Ear cropping protects dogs in fights, claims seller to stars
A DOG seller whose clients include sports and television stars has defended cropping its animals’ ears, saying it is so they do not get ripped during fights.
Protection Dogs Worldwide attempted to justify the practice as the Government considered a ban on the “abhorrent mutilation”.
The company has sold dogs to celebrities such as Katie Price, the former glamour model, and Jack Fincham, the Love Island star, while Dane Rashford, the brother of Manchester United footballer Marcus, has been spotted scouting out pets at the Yorkshire kennels.
Cropping, which involves removing almost the whole outside of the pet’s ear, is illegal in the UK, but importing dogs with cropped ears is not.
Marcus Rashford has a black cane corso with clipped ears, while Leigh-Anne Pinnock, the Little Mix singer, has an earless bulldog. There is no suggestion any of these celebrities acted illegally or knew the dogs were cropped when they bought them.
Leedor Borlant, the director of Protection Dogs Worldwide, said it buys in dogs with cropped ears from abroad. He said: “None of our dogs are cropped in the UK and none are sent to be cropped. Every dog we have is an import, what we do is 100 per cent within the law and I am fully aware of the legalities behind it and we don’t break any laws.”
He claimed that cropping allowed dogs to escape unscathed from fights.
The British Veterinary Association and the RSPCA have been lobbying the Government to make it essentially illegal to own a dog with cropped ears, by banning imports. They argue that importing provides a cover for breeders to implement the painful procedure.
UK companies such as Protection Dogs Worldwide import animals from countries such as Russia, where the practice is legal, and train the dogs to guard their celebrity owners. They sell for tens of thousands of pounds.
The Government is currently considering a ban on the practice.