The Belgian world of dog fancy will follow the trend initiated by northern Europe. The Société Royale Saint Hubert, reminds dog fanciers about the legal texts. Tail cropping remains allowed until 2006.
Here’s the official point of view of the Société Royale Saint Hubert about “those ancestral habits, that are ear and tail cropping in many selected breeds:”Following the publication of the royal law from May 17, 2001 in the Moniteur belge on July 4, 2001 (pages 23244-23250 - the following ancestral habits which were common in many canine breeds, will come to an end, in order to avoid them useless suffering.
1 In accordance with the article 2 from this Royal law, and the article 17 bis from July 14, 1986 law, “it is now forbidden to practice on any vertebrate one or several interventions leading to the amputation or cropping of one or several sensible parts of its body.”2 According to the article 1, the interventions on vertebrates included in the annexe of the Royal Law from May 4, 1995, are authorised on in the mentioned conditions, in accordance with the very same article 17 bis, paragraph 2.3 in the law from August 14, 1986.For the dogs, this means:Castration or sterilisation, by surgical means, anaesthesia being required;Dewclaws ablation, by surgical means, anaesthesia being not required during the first 4 days of life;Tail cropping remains authorised until January 1, 2006, as long as it is done surgically without anaesthesia during the first 4 days of life.
To sum things up, this means that:1) Ear cropping is forbidden from October 1, 2001;2) Tail cropping remains authorised until January 1, 2006, as long as it is done surgically, without anaesthesia, during the first 4 days of life. 3) Interventions such as castration or sterilisation, as well as dewclaws ablation, remain authorised in the above mentioned conditions.
This is simply a synthesis. Should you require more information, please refer to the legal texts.
Here are some precisions made by the Société Royale Saint Hubert:”Needless to point out that we are very disappointed with these decisions. Concerning tail copping, the current federal government has taken a u-turn, as the previous one had claimed they would maintain some possibilities. The 5 year report concerning tail cropping is a bitter fruit, and it is almost impossible to change the genetic pool’s of the breeds in such a short time, as our politicians and their advisers seem to think!”