The AKC usually only rubber stamp the breed standard that has been agreed and submitted by Breed Clubs. It is therefore up to the Breed Clubs to seek for agreement amongst their members for compulsory tail docking to be removed from the breed standard and a tail standard type (carriage, length, movement) substituted instead. Unfortunately this is never as easy as it sounds as there are always traditional die hards amongst the heirarchy who will never agree to change. Therefore to make it compulsory in countries that have banned the practice it has taken governmenal legislation. In countries where Veterinary Colleges have stipulated that Vets should not carry out the procedure breeders are known to do it themselves. By banning the showing of docked dogs through legislation, show breeders have had to accept that in order to compete and gain merit for their stock they can no longer dock. As more dogs are seen with tails in the community it makes it easier to trace those breeders (not usually show ones) who are flouting the law. There are no statistics available for deaths or permanent injury resulting from docking for obvious reasons.
Anti-Docking Alliance Web Site