Effective from 1 June 2004, it is an offence in New South Wales under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1979 to dock the tail of a dog.

Exceptions

• the docking is done by a person who is registered as a veterinary surgeon in NSW, and
• the docking is in the interests of the dog’s welfare.

This means that any non-veterinarian who docks a tail is liable for prosecution and any veterinarian who docks a tail other than in the interests of the dog’s welfare is liable for prosecution.

The Act is enforced by officers of  NSW Police,  NSW RSPCA  and NSW Animal Welfare League NSW.

The maximum penalty for individuals convicted of this offence is $5,500 or imprisonment for six months or both, or $27,500 for corporations.

For further information please see the following questions and answers.

1. Does the ban apply only to adult dogs or to puppies as well?

 It applies to puppies and adult dogs – there is no age limit.

2. Vets are allowed to tail dock if 'it is in the interest of the dog’s welfare'.  What does this mean?

If a case comes to court, the decision on whether or not an offence has been committed will be decided by a magistrate.

The intention of the legislation is to ban tail docking which is done for 'routine', 'preventive' or 'cosmetic' purposes, as has been traditional with many dog breeds.

Animal welfare inspectors who respond to complaints made about alleged offences, will generally regard as justified in term’s of the dog’s welfare, situations in which tails are docked by veterinarians in response to damage, disease or other abnormality and are judged by the veterinarian likely to cause the dog continuing pain or behavioural problems or be a risk to the dog’s health.

Veterinarians are being advised that it is inappropriate to dock a healthy tail on the basis of a possible future event.  Only curative or therapeutic tail docking is justifiable.

Although each case investigated will be considered on its merits, enforcement officers can investigate any docking of a healthy tail with a view to prosecution.

3.  My dog had its tail docked before 1 June 2004. What’s the situation?

There is no cause for concern, you haven’t broken any laws because your dog's tail was docked prior to 1 June 2004.

4. Will dogs that usually have docked tails be able to be shown if they have long tails?

Yes.  A docked tail is not a mandatory requirement of any breed standard recognized by the Australian National Kennel Council.

5.  Don’t working dogs have to have their tails docked to prevent injuries?

There are many working breeds with long tails such as cattle dogs, bull terriers, German shepherds, collies, kelpies and English pointers.  These show that routine tail docking is not necessary.

6.  Won’t dogs such as boxers, rottweilers and fox terriers look really weird with long tails?

Not at all!  They will look different at first because we are used to seeing them with only a stump for a tail. They will really be the same dogs that they always have been but they will now have a full tail to wag like Labradors, collies and beagles.

7.  What should I do if I think someone has illegally docked a puppy’s or dog’s tail in NSW and I want to report it?

You can report it to the NSW RSPCA, telephone (02) 9770 7555, or NSW Animal Welfare League, telephone (02) 9826 1555  Such notifications are treated confidentially by the enforcement agencies and the informant’s identity is not divulged.

8. I really want to buy a dog with a docked tail – can I still do this?

You won’t break the law if you buy or own a dog that was tail docked in NSW before 1 June 2004.

But if the dog’s tail was docked in NSW after 1 June 2004:

• the person who did this may have committed an offence and
• you may have committed an offence if you arranged for illegal tail docking to be done for you.

9.  I own a dog with a docked tail.  Will I break the law if I sell it or give it away?

No.  The only way you will break the law is if you actually dock a dog’s tail in contravention of the Act or arrange for a dog’s tail to be docked in contravention of the Act.  It’s not an offence to own, sell or give away a dog with a docked tail.

10.  Is routine tail docking of dogs being banned Australia wide?

Yes.

In 2002 the Primary Industries Ministerial Council (PIMC) agreed in principle to a nationally coordinated ban on the routine tail docking of dogs for non-therapeutic purposes.  Each state and territory has its own animal welfare laws and each one therefore had to introduce its own ban.

In early October 2003 PIMC agreed that all jurisdictions would implement the ban as soon as practical.  The key elements of the ban are that non-therapeutic tail docking of dogs will be prohibited and therapeutic tail docking will be able to be carried out only by a veterinarian.

All jurisdictions have now introduced bans effectively limiting tail docking of dogs to therapeutic situations only.

11. It’s been traditional to dock the tails of some dog breeds for hundreds of years.  Why ban it now?

One of the objectives of the Act is to protect animals from unjustifiable, unnecessary or unreasonable pain, distress or suffering.  Although it is difficult to accurately assess the level of pain an animal is experiencing, the evidence available strongly suggests that tail docking is associated with both acute and chronic pain.

The only circumstance potentially in which causing dogs such pain can be regarded as justified, necessary or reasonable, is if the tail docking is in the interests of the dog’s welfare.

The ban is coming in now because of the combination of:

• the weight of scientific opinion about the negative effects of tail docking on dog welfare,
• changing community expectations about unnecessary surgical procedures on animals, and
• the agreement of all Australian states and territories to implement the ban.

12. I know someone who docked their dog's tail with a rubber band. Is that legal?

In June 2007, the tail docking legislation was amended to include a definition of tail docking. Docking the tail of an animal now includes removing all or part of the tail, by surgical or other means. This means that it is now illegal to dock a dog’s tail using a rubber band.