A bill has been introduced in the Michigan House of Representatives that would ban ear cropping, tail docking, and “debarking.” No individual may perform these procedures, and veterinarians may only do so if relieving an injury, illness, infection, etc.
House Bill 6009 has been assigned to the House Agriculture Committee and is not currently scheduled for a hearing. In addition, the House is in recess until August 6.
AKC opposes this bill, as these procedures, when done humanely, are not purely aesthetic, as the bill implies. Ear cropping and tail docking are important parts of certain breed standards, which were developed based on the traits for which the dog was originally bred, and in some cases, actually protect a dog from harm and serious injury later in life. “Debarking”, or bark softening, is a humane, minimally-invasive procedure performed by a veterinarian when all other training methods have failed, and may allow a dog to remain in a loving home rather than being taken to a shelter. Visit AKC’s Key Issues page on this topic for more information.
AKC and the Michigan Association for Pure-Bred Dogs are closely monitoring this proposal and will provide updates and more information if and when action is needed.
Those who wish to do so may respectfully send comments to the sponsor and House Agriculture Committee:
- Contact the sponsor:
Mary Manoogian
(517) 373-8670
marimanoogian@house.mi.gov - Contact the House Agriculture Committee:
Committee Chair, Rep. Julie Alexander
(517) 373-1795
JulieAlexander@house.mi.gov
Rep. Mike Mueller
(517) 373-1780
MikeMueller@house.mi.gov
Rep. Beau LaFace
(517) 373-0156
BeauLaFave@house.mi.gov
Rep. Michele Hoitenga
(517) 373-1747
MicheleHoitenga@house.mi.gov
Rep. Gary Eisen
(517) 373-1790
GaryEisen@house.mi.gov
Rep. Pauline Wendzel
(517) 373-1403
PaulineWendzel@house.mi.gov
Rep. Brian Elder
(517) 373-0158
BrianElder@house.mi.gov
Rep. Kevin Coleman
(517) 373-2576
KevinColeman@house.mi.gov
Rep. Alex Garza
(517) 373-0852
AlexGarza@house.mi.gov
Rep. Cynthia A. Johnson
(517) 373-0844
CynthiaAJohnson@house.mi.gov
Rep. Angela Witwer
(517)-373-0853
AngelaWitwer@house.mi.gov
For questions or more information, contact AKC GR at doglaw@akc.org.