"Surgical operations for the purpose of modifying the appearance of a
pet animal or for other non-curative purposes shall be prohibited and, in
particular:
a. the docking of tails; & d. declawing and defanging".
"set maximum and minimum values
for height or weight of very large or very small dogs, respectively"
"set maximum values for the proportion between length and height of short
legged dogs"
"set limits to the shortness of skull, respectively nose"
IT WANTS US TO BREED ONLY ONE EURO STYLE DOG !
This page is split into three parts. The Council of Europe is explained, then abridged versions of the Convention and the Resolutions are shown. Please read the whole document, after which you will probably conclude that the welfare of our pets is just a very small part of a far wider agenda which would impact very seriously upon dog breeders as a whole.
There can now be no doubt that, if all its provisions were adopted, we would see the end of many breeds we currently know and love.
PART ONE
PART TWO
PART THREE
The Council of Europe is NOT the same as the European Union. It is an association of 39 European States which seeks accord on matters related to the environment, culture etc. The twelve European Union member states are however, all members of the Council of Europe.
Its Conventions do not carry the force of law, and member states which sign up to them are not obliged to alter their national legislation unless they ratify the Convention. Even so, Conventions do carry considerable influence and moral force. Resolutions do have to be adhered to in countries which have ratified a Convention.
The Council of Europe covers all major issues facing European society with the exception of defence. Its work programme includes the following fields of activity; human rights, media, legal co-operation, social and economic questions, health, education, culture, heritage, sport, youth, local and regional government, and environment.
The Committee of Ministers, is the decision making body of the Council of Europe, composed of the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the member states or their Permanent Representatives.
The consultative organ is the Parliamentary Assembly whose members are appointed by national parliaments.
Governments and national parliaments are thus represented separately.
The Secretariat has a permanent staff of over 900 (in 1992) drawn from member states. The Council is financed by the member states in proportion to their population and wealth. The budget for 1992 was 97 million UK pounds.
Conventions are adopted by the Committee of Ministers, in which each state has one member with one vote. Decisions like the Convention for the Protection of Pet Animals are taken at the level of the Ministers Deputies, i.e. by the Permanent Representatives of member states.
The Ministers Deputies have practically the same decision making powers as the Ministers and supervise the Councils activities. They meet for about one week each month.
Their decisions are transmitted to member governments either as recommendations or as European conventions and agreements binding on the states that ratify them.
The Secretariat General for the Council of Europe can be contacted at the following address:
Council of Europe
Boite postale 431 R6
F-67006 Strasbourg Cedex
FRANCE
Telephone 88 41 20 00 Fax 88 41 27 81 / 82 / 83 Telex 870943 EUR F
1 - Surgical operations for the purpose of modifying the appearance of a pet animal or for other non-curative purposes shall be prohibited and, in particular:
a. the docking of tails;
b. the cropping of ears;
c. devocalisation;
d. declawing and defanging.
2 - Exceptions to these prohibitions shall be permitted only :
a. if a veterinarian considers non-curative procedures necessary either for veterinary medical reasons or for the benefit of any particular animal;
b. to prevent reproduction.
3 - a. Operations in which the animal will or is likely to experience severe pain shall be carried out under anaesthesia only by a veterinarian or under his supervision.
b. Operations for which no anaesthesia is required may be carried out by a person competent under national legislation.
Any State may, at the time of signatory or when depositing its instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession, declare that it avails itself to one or more reservations in respect of Article 6 and Article 10, paragraph 1, sub-paragraph a. No other reservations may be made.
Eleven of the thirty nine member states of the Council of Europe have now signed and ratified the Convention: Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, and Switzerland.
However, Five of these have entered a reservation excluding themselves from the provisions of Article 10, which relates to tail docking: Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, and Portugal.
Both Italy and the Netherlands signed the Convention in 1987 but to date have not ratified it. All of the above information is correct as at 18 October 1996.
The following two Resolutions were adopted on 10th March 1995 as part of the European Convention for the Protection of Pet Animals. They highlight the serious impact which the Convention would have on dog and cat breeding in Europe, and if adopted would have repercussions world-wide.
Amplifies the provisions of Article 10 of the Convention, which prohibits surgical operations for the purpose of modifying the appearance of a pet animal or for other non-curative purposes, in particular tail docking and ear cropping. It agrees to:
Amplifies the provision of Article 5 of the Convention which refers to the selection of a pet animal for breeding which takes account of the anatomical, physiological and behavioural characteristics likely to put at risk the health and welfare of either the offspring or the female parent. It agrees to:
Each resolution is followed by a detailed explanatory annexe. In the case of docking, this enumerates 74 breeds in which "natural" tails should be favoured, and discounts the problems of tail damage completely.
In the case of breeding, it refers to a range of physical attributes in a wide variety of breeds, e.g. alignment of legs and teeth, size and form of eyes or eyelids, length of ears, folded skin, genetic factors.
Airedale Terrier, Australian Terrier, Bassethound, Bedlington Terrier, Blue Merle Collie, Bloodhound, Boston Terrier, Boxer, Brussels Griffon, Bullterrier, Bulldog, Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Chihuahua, Chow Chow, Dachshund, Dandie Dinmont Terrier, English Cocker Spaniel, English Toy Terrier, Finnish Spitz, Japan Chin, King Charles Spaniel, MerlCorgie, Merle Bobtail, Newfoundland, Norwegian Buhund, Pekin Palacedog, Persian Cat, Pug, Scottish Fold Cat, Shar Pei, Shi Tzu, St Bernard, Swedish Lapphund, Tibet Terrier.
set maximum and minimum values for height or weight of very large or very small dogs, respectively, to avoid skeleton and joint disorders (e.g. dysphasia of hip joints or elbows, fractures, luxation of elbow or patella, persistent fontanella) and collapse of tracheas.
set maximum values for the proportion between length and height of short legged dogs (e.g. Bassethound, Dachshund) to avoid disorders of the vertebral column.
set limits to the shortness of skull, respectively nose, so that breathing difficulties and blockage of lachrymal ducts are avoided, as well as disposition to birth difficulties (e.g. Persian cats, Bulldogs, Japan Chin, King Charles Spaniel, Pug, Pekin Palacedog).
prevent the occurrence of;
a persistent fontella (e.g. Chihuahua) to avoid brain damages;
abnormal positions of legs (e.g. very steep line of hind legs in Chow Chow, Norwegian Buhund, Swedish Lapphund, Finnish Spitz; bowed legs in Bassethound, Pekin Palacedog, Shi Tzu) to avoid difficulties in movement and joint degeneration.
abnormal positions of teeth (e.g. brachygnathia in Boxers, Bulldogs, Persian Cats) to avoid difficulties in feeding and caring for the new born.
abnormal size and form of eyes or eyelids (e.g. ectropium: Bassethound, Bloodhound, St Bernard).
small deep lying eyes with disposition to entropium (e.g. Airedale Terrier, Australian Terrier, Bedlington Terrier, Bullterrier, Bloodhound, Chow Chow, English Toy Terrier, Jagdterrier, Newfoundland, Shar Pei).
large protruding eyes (e.g. Boston Terrier, Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Dandie Dinmont Terrier, Brussels Griffon, Japan Chin, King Charles Spaniel, Pug, Pekin Palace Dog, Shi Tzu, Tibet Terrier) to avoid irritation, inflammation and degeneration as well as prolapse of eyes.
very long ears (e.g. English Cocker Spaniels, Bassethound, Bloodhound) to avoid disposition to injuries.
markedly folded skin (e.g. Bassethound, Bulldog, Bloodhound, Pug, Pekin Palacedog, Shar Pei) to avoid eczema's and in the case of furrows around the eyes irritation and inflammation of eyes.
Avoid or, if it is not possible to eliminate severe defects, discontinued breeding of:
animals carrying semi-lethal factors (e.g. Entlebucher Cattledog);
animals carrying recessive defect-genes (e.g. homocygotic Scottish Fold Cat; short legs, vertebral column and tail defects)
hairless dogs and cats (lack of protection against sun and chill, disposition to significant reduction of number of teeth, semi-lethal factor)
Manx-cat (movement disorder, disposition to vertebral column defects, difficulties in elimination of urine and faeces, semi-lethal factor)
cats carrying "dominant white" (significant disposition to deafness);
dogs carrying "Merle factor" (significant disposition to deafness and eye disorders, e.g. Blue Merle Collie, Merle Sheltie, Merle Corgi, Merle Bobtail, Tigerdogge, Tigerteckel)
The resolutions have now been adopted as part of the Convention by the States which are signatories to it. They will be presented to new member states which have not yet ratified the Convention. Such states will be invited to respect these resolutions.
Countries are free to implement the principles of the resolutions in any way they wish. Some already have legislation to do so. Others may wish to effect implementation through administrative procedures.
The U.K. is not a signatory to the Convention and was not represented at the meeting on 10th March 1995. Dog breeders were represented at the meeting by the International Dog Organisation (FCI).
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