It is illegal I_love_lucy in UK unless done for medical reasons by a vet.
The royal college of vetinary surgeons had this to say
Quote:
The Royal College has for many years been firmly opposed to the docking
of dogs' tails, whatever the age of the dog, by anyone, unless it can be
shown truly to be required for therapeutic or truly prophylactic.
Docking cannot be defined as prophylactic unless it is undertaken for
the necessary protection of the given dog from risks to that dog of
disease or of injury which is likely to arise in the future from the
retention of the entire tail. The test of likelihood is whether or not
such an outcome will probably arise in the case of that dog if it is not
docked. Faecal soiling is not for this purpose a disease or injury,
and its purported prevention by surgical means cannot be justified.
Similarly, docking cannot be described as prophylactic if it is
undertaken merely on request, or just because the dog is of a particular
breed, type or conformation. Council considers that such docking is
unethical.
Docking a dogs' tail for reasons which are other than truly therapeutic
or prophylactic is capable of amounting to conduct disgraceful in a
professional respect. In the event of disciplinary proceedings being
brought in respect of tail docking, it shall be open to the RCVS by
evidence to prove, and the Disciplinary Committee on such evidence to
find, that any therapeutic or prophylactic justification advanced for
the docking in question is without substance. If such a finding is
made, the Disciplinary Committee may proceed to consider and to decide
whether in the circumstances the Veterinary Surgeon who undertook that
docking knew, or ought to have known, that such a purported
justification is without substance.
For the avoidance of any doubt, any instance of tail docking which is
found to have been undertaken for reasons which were not truly
therapeutic or prophylactic will necessarily constitute an unacceptable
mutilation of the dog, which, if carried out by a Veterinary Surgeon who
knew or ought to have known of the lack of true justification, would
almost certainly be considered to be conduct disgraceful in a
professional respect.'
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And Recent research by independant bodies has shown that neonates are HYPERsensitive rather than HYPOsensitive as has been widely believed. Neonates have an intact sensory central nervous system that does not have descending modular pathways that act as pain blocks seen in adults. Research has also shown that the memory of neonatal pain can affect the animal in its adult life. Symptoms include decreased pain threshold, anxiety, social disorders and aggression.