FOUR JACK Russell terriers are on the mend after they were found with their tails shoddily docked, effectively making them rotten.
The ISPCA National Animal Helpline received a call from a member of the public two weeks ago, who had responded to an online advertisement offering Jack Russell puppies for sale at a location in north Laois.
When they viewed the puppies, they saw that they had rubber rings wrapped around their tails.
The seller assured them that this was the normal way in which pups’ tails are docked. Despite their misgivings, the buyer paid €140 for a puppy.
After bringing the pup home, they continued to have concerns and visited their vet, who advised that they contact the ISPCA.
Inspector Brendan Hughes investigated the allegation and found a further four Jack Russell pups, aged approximately eight weeks, with rubber lambing rings on their tails. The seller appeared to have no idea that they had done anything wrong.
Mr Hughes said the incident was born out of “complete ignorance”.
“She decided to do her own docking and put on lamb rings, mistakenly believing there was no difference, but they are completely different. Lambs normally are done at a day or two old when no nerves have developed. Here, it was cutting and eating into their flesh and nerves,” he said.
He added: “These puppies were far too old to have their tails docked, both legally and morally. The ISPCA believes the practice of docking tails to be barbaric and unnecessary at any age and we are hopeful that it will be outlawed altogether in the relatively near future”.
The woman in question was cautioned and surrendered the animals to the ISPCA.
“Vets completed the process on some of them. The end of the tail was going rotten. That’s effectively what happened. They were put on antibiotics and pain relief. After they were vaccinated, they were kept in isolation and after that they will go out to homes,” he said.
Inspector Hughes added: “The docking of tails before four weeks is, unfortunately, still legal’’.