The Council of the Nova Scotia Veterinary Medical Association has amended the Code of Ethics after consultation with the Membership, both directly and through a survey, along with consideration of public input, to include the following Section relating to Cosmetic Surgery.
“No member of the Nova Scotia Veterinary Medical Association shall perform cosmetic surgery on an animal for the purpose of having the animal’s appearance conform to a breed standard or tradition. Cosmetic surgery is defined as non-therapeutic surgical procedures, which alter the appearance of an animal for purely cosmetic purposes. Surgeries due to injury or for reasons of animal health are not considered to be cosmetic surgery.”
Examples of cosmetic procedures in small animal medicine include:
- tail docking in the canine species
- tail docks in newborn puppies
- dewclaw removal in newborn puppies
- ear cropping
- onychectomy (de-claw) in species other than the domestic cat
This legislative amendment will come into effect on April 1, 2010 with a 6 month implementation period.
Therefore, members will be given until October 1, 2010 to implement the education period of the Legislation, after which time the Legislative amendment will be deemed to be enforceable.
Frequently Asked Cosmetic Surgery Questions and Answers:
1Q: Why has the NSVMA made it unprofessional conduct for vets to do cosmetic surgery?
1A: Cosmetic surgery is considered unnecessary. It provides no medical or health benefits for the animal. Cosmetic procedures may result in infection, chronic pain (tails) and affect behaviour (puppies with ear cropping.) Cosmetic surgery procedures are normally performed to meet breed standards or because of tradition. The origins for most of these traditions are either unclear, or unknown. The breed standards that dictate the necessity of many of these procedures are Canadian and American standards. These standards have been changed in many other countries where cosmetic surgery is not allowed.
2Q: What happens if a breeder decides to do a tail docking procedure on a litter of puppies by him/herself?
2A: This addition to the Code of Ethics applies to veterinarians in Nova Scotia only. Our legislation does not prevent a breeder from doing a tail dock procedure on his/her own litter of pups.
However, the recently proclaimed Animal Protection Act will apply to non-veterinarians. If animal cruelty is suspected and reported to the SPCA or the NSDA, it will be investigated and dealt with based on the facts and circumstances of the case.
3Q: What if a person decides to ear crop his/her own dog?
3A: Ear cropping requires general anesthesia, sterile surgical technique and pain control. Therefore, a veterinarian must perform ear cropping surgery. The CKC regulations state that any person who performs an ear cropping procedure without the use of a general anesthetic will be barred for life from all CKC events. In most jurisdictions, ear cropping without appropriate anesthesia and pain control would be considered an act of cruelty and would be pursued by the SPCA. The recently proclaimed Animal Protection Act will apply.
4Q: Does this prevent people from showing their dogs in Nova Scotia with cropped ears, and docked tails?
4A: No, the CKC sanctions many of the performance and conformation shows in Canada. Until the CKC breed standards change and the breed associations no longer require these surgical alterations, dogs will be shown altered.
5Q: Why is there a 6 month grace period before this addition to the Code of Ethics is enforced?
5A: This was done to allow veterinarians to inform breeders of the change and to allow time to educate the public and breeders about the reasons for the change. It also allows time for breeders and the public to lobby breed associations and the CKC to change the breed standards to reflect modern values regarding animal welfare.
6Q: Can breeders take their dogs out of the province to have these procedures performed?
6A: Yes. However, many veterinarians across the country already decline to do cosmetic surgery. Many provincial Veterinary Medical Associations, (e.g. NB, PEI, NL,) have enacted similar cosmetic surgery amendments and over the past ten years, the CVMA has promoted that cosmetic surgery should not take place.
7Q: What else can be done?
7A: Through this addition to the Code of Ethics, veterinarians in Nova Scotia have expressed their position that cosmetic surgery should not take place. Although the perspective exists with other groups that changes are required, the Breeders and Kennel Clubs have been slow to adapt breed standards. Attention should now be directed to these groups to assist them in the re-development of their standards.
8Q: Where can I get more information?
8A: More information can be obtained through the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association (www.canadianveterinarians.org). Talk to your veterinarian if you have any questions.