POLICE, rescue and working dogs used for pest control and shooting may continue to have their tails docked in a second about-turn by the Government.

Margaret Beckett, the Rural Affairs Secretary, and Ben Bradshaw and Jim Knight, her junior ministers, have tabled an amendment to the Animal Welfare Bill allowing this exemption for welfare reasons. The Bill has its third reading in the Commons next week.

The decision comes less than six weeks after Mr Bradshaw decided that MPs should have the opportunity to vote for a total ban on docking. Previously the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) had been in favour of the status quo.

The latest change of policy comes after intensive lobbying from groups such as the Association of Chief Police Officers, the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) and the Countryside Alliance.

MPs have a free vote on the issue and it is by no means certain that this exemption will gain majority support. Tail docking has become as totemic an issue for some MPs as hunting.

The latest twist emerged on the first day of Crufts, the world’s biggest dog show, and enraged many breeders and owners. The show dog world is renowned for spiteful gossip and an exemption for working dogs has caused a split between owners and breeders.

While hundreds of thousands of cocker and springer spaniels and German short-haired and wire-haired pointers may have docked tails, poodles, terriers, corgis, boxers and Old English sheepdogs that have traditionally been docked for cosmetic reasons must now keep their tails.

Within a couple of years it is unlikely that any dog with a docked tail would be competing at Crufts or other dog shows. The Government has drawn up strict conditions for the tail docking of working dogs to prevent owners of cosmetically docked breeds from exploiting the loophole.

A veterinary surgeon must certify that the dog is a working animal — owners may have to produce a firearms licence, for example. The docking must occur before the dog is five days old and no animal with a docked tail may take part in competition dog shows where members of the public pay an entrance fee.

All docked dogs must also be microchipped in future so that a central register can be held.Owners of working dogs were delighted by the change of policy from Defra, though there is still concern that some MPs will block the exemption. Tim Bonner, of the Countryside Alliance, said: “We understand the concern about the docking of dogs for showing and cosmetic reasons, but there is no reason to put the welfare of tens of thousands of working dogs at risk.”

Simon Clarke, spokesman of the BASC, said: “This exemption will prevent cosmetic docking but will allow vets the discretion to dock a working dog’s tail if they believe it is in the animal’s best interest. This amendment would be a positive step for animal welfare.”

But Peter Squires, of the Council of Docked Breeds, and a breeder of boxers, was outraged. He said: “If docking is OK for working dogs then it should be allowed for all breeds. We are very unhappy about this. I know that lots of breeders of boxers, Dobermanns and rottweilers will give up rather than rear dogs with tails on. If you have ever seen the damage that can be done to tails you know that there is no other option.”

Many working dogs are prone to painful tail injuries. Spaniels tend to suffer damage that leaves the end of the tail sore and bleeding. The injuries are caused as the dogs wag their tails in confined spaces or thick undergrowth. Once an injury is sustained, it tends to reopen every time the dog goes out. The damage can be prevented if a vet removes part of the tail soon after birth.

BREEDS APART

Working dogs include those used by police, Customs & Excise and bomb disposal teams

Cocker spaniel
English springer spaniel
Welsh springer spaniel
Guard dog breeds
Doberman
Rottweiler
Schnauzer
Boxer
Main gun dogs
Cocker spaniel
English springer spaniel
Field spaniel
Welsh sprigner spaniel
Clumber spaniel
Sussex spaniel

Hunter Pointer retrievers for gamebirds and waterfowl

German short-haired pointer
wire-haired Weimaraner
Hungarian Vizsla
Italian Spinone
Brittany

Working terriers mainly for ratting or flushing foxes to protect game birds

Jack Russell terrier
Irish
Lakeland
Fell
Lucas
Norfolk
Norwich
Patterdale
Smooth Fox
Wire-haired Fox

• Labradors are a popular working dog breed used for retrieving not hunting. Their tails are not docked because their main job is to pick up dead birds not to hunt them from cover

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