Working Spaniels

This consultation is seeking views on a specific proposal to introduce legislation to permit the docking of Spaniel and hunt Point Retriever puppies which are intended to be used as working dogs.

Why We Are Consulting

The Scottish Ministers have powers under Section 20(5)(b) of the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006 to vary the current ban on tail docking of dogs; and have stated in the past that if, in future, the ban compromised the overall welfare of working dogs then they would review the ban.

Research commissioned from the University of Glasgow was published in April 2014 which provided data on the incidence of tail injuries in working dogs. the output from this research will be made freely available during the consultation period.

This consultation is designed to seek the views of all interested parties, and any evidence they can furnish, on whether permitting to the docking of tails, of up to a third in length, will offer welfare benefits to working Spaniels and Hunt Point Retrievers.