A man has been banned from keeping animals for two years after having his dog’s ears cropped.
Despite being told by his vet and the RSPCA that cropping his 15 week old XL bulldog’s ears was illegal Ramadan Murtati went ahead with it.
The 20-year-old returned to the vets for an unrelated vaccination with his puppy called Bully.
They could clearly see Bully’s ears were sore and red from recently being cropped through the cartilage and contacted the RSPCA who took the dog into their care.
RSPCA inspectors said they did not believe the pup had received any medication and no conventional surgical technique had been used, such as sutures or dressing for the ears.
Despite being a young puppy an RSPCA inspector said Bully was quite old to have his ears cropped meaning he could have further health issues in the future.
Murtati, from Folkestone Road, Walthamstow in London, was disqualified from keeping all animals for two years at Leicester Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.
The owner, originally from Leicester, was also fined £120 and ordered to pay costs of £150 and a £34 victim surcharge.
He pleaded guilty to permitting or failing to take such steps to prevent the ears of a dog from being cropped by another person, under the Animal Welfare Act.
RSPCA inspector Herchy Boal said: “I could see instantly that the puppy’s ears had been recently cropped, they appeared sore and red, but were not actively bleeding.
“The puppy was called Bully and was around 15 weeks old. He was friendly and on taking a closer look I could see that his ears were starting to heal and granulate, but were still sore.
“Both ears flaps had been cut, with exposure of the cartilage surfaces,” he continued.
“Bully was also quite old to have had his ears cropped which again would have been more painful for him and he could have further health issues from this in years to come.
“I am happy to say that Bully was signed over to the care of the RSPCA and has since been rehomed to a lovely family who completely adore him.”
An expert vet who examined Bully said the pup had been subjected to potential pain during and after the unnecessary procedure.
“There was no evidence of any conventional surgical technique, sutures, or dressing covering the ears. RSPCA inspector Herchy Boal informed me that she was not aware that the patient had received or was taking any kind of medication.
“In my professional opinion the patient was subjected unnecessarily to a procedure, that regardless of the medical care provided, always implicated discomfort and potential pain during and after the procedure.
“The degree of pain will have been depending on the degree and depth of the anesthesia and analgesia that was provided when the procedure took place.”
Ear cropping is a painful procedure where all or part of the ear is removed for cosmetic reasons.
In England and Wales it is illegal under Section 5 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006.
The defendant said in mitigation that ear cropping was legal in his home country.
On their website the RSPCA reported people falsely claim ear cropping can prevent ear infections and avoid animals injuring their ears.
They said owners often crop their dogs’ ears to make their animal look tough and intimidating.
However, it commonly has the opposite effect making them anxious and nervous around other people.
It’s usually done on puppies between six and 12 weeks and is increasingly popular on American bullies.
