From ANIMAL PEOPLE, December 2003:

Tail-docking

I noticed that the November 2003 full page ad from Animal
Rights International asking the American Veterinary Medical
Association to adhere to ethical animal treatment did not mention the
AVMA position on tail-docking. Their policy is very “fudgy,” and
AVMA members dock tails wherever state law allows it.
The new American Assoc-iation of Equine Practioners policy
on tail docking, adopted in July 2003, protects horses against
cosmetic tail amputation, but not against all amputation. The AAEP
position reads:
Tail docking in horses should only be performed when it is a
medical necessity or when it is vital to ensuring the horse’s safety
in a work environment. Tail docking should not be performed for
cosmetic reasons. To protect the health and welfare of the horse,
tail docking should be performed by a licensed veterinarian to ensure
adequate pain management, sterile technique and appropriate
aftercare. Tail docking should always be done in compliance with
individual state laws.
If European horse users can put full-tailed horses into
multiple hitches without endangering anyone or anything, how come we
cannot? You and I know what will happen: The person with a horse
who wants to be like his “peers” will plead safety issues and get the
tail lopped off.
Draft horse judge John Blaisdell, P.E.I. tells me that if
there are two teams competing in the ring with identical scores, he
has to chose the team with the shortest tails as winners. Where are
the winners here? The judge is weak, the horses are mutilated,
the handler remains uneducated. A dock-tailed horse proclaims the
ignorance of his handler and trainer. Blaisdell also cites many
cases in his experience where this totally unnecessary operation led
to infection and worse in the horses.
The new president of the AAEP is Thomas D. Brokken of Ft.
Lauderdale. He works exclusively with thoroughbred racehorses. He
has served on the AAEP ethics committee and educational programs.
The headquarters for the AAEP is 4075 Iron Works Parkway, Lexington,
KY 40511; 1-800-443-0177; or fax 1-859-233-0147. Email:
<aaepoffice@aaep.org>.
–Sharon Cregier
Montague
Prince Edward Island
Canada
<scregier@pei.sympatico.ca>
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