Dog owners cleared of animal cruelty over ear-cropping, as court denounces practice

A couple and their son have been cleared of animal cruelty charges over the clipping of their dog’s ears, with their son being fined €300 for failing to register his dog as required by law.

Kelvin Magri had been charged, together with his parents, with breaching animal welfare laws.

The Office of the Animal Welfare Commissioner had received a tip off about a case where a dog had its ears clipped and was given photos of the dog before and after the intervention. The owner was identified through Facebook and an inspection was later carried out by Animal Welfare officers.

Magistrate Joe Mifsud noted how during the visit, officers said they had discovered that the dog was being held in very good conditions and in an air-conditioned room.

The animal had no visible signs of abuse and was being kept clean and supplied with sufficient nutrition.

The man had admitted during the proceedings that he had failed to register and microchip the dog as required by subsidiary legislation, but had denied cropping the dog’s ears, telling the court that when his father had got him the dog, its ears had already been cropped.

Magistrate Mifsud declared that he was against cosmetic surgical interventions on animals such as the cropping of ears or the docking of tails, highlighting that these practises were prohibited by law.

“Ear cropping refers to the practice of reshaping a dog’s ears by surgically removing the pinna, or “floppy part” of the ear,” observed the court, quoting an article by Amy L. Broughton of the Michigan State University College of law.

Part of the article reproduced in the judgement, described the process of ear-cropping. “Generally, approximately one-half of the ear is removed. Ears are cropped when a puppy is between nine and twelve weeks old. Because ear cropping is a surgery and a general anaesthetic is required, the procedure is generally performed by a veterinarian, although breeders and dog owners often undertake amateur attempts of the ear cropping procedure. Once the pinna is removed, the veterinarian then tapes the ears in an erect position to a splint or bracket. Post-operative pain medication is rarely provided, though the ears have blood flow and are composed of cartilage and nerves.”

The magistrate made no bones about his stand on animal cruelty, in the judgment.

“The Court makes it clear that had it resulted that any of the accused had indeed cropped the dog’s ears, they would have been found guilty of animal cruelty and would have faced the consequences which relate to such offences,” the court said.

Magistrate Mifsud observed that while plastic surgery had become fashionable amongst Malta’s citizenry, an animal does not choose to have its ears cropped. 

“This court has failed to understand why such interventions are carried out on a being in order to change its appearance from an innocent being into a menacing one,” Magistrate Mifsud said.

The magistrate also cited Indian lawyer and political activist Mahatma Gandhi, who had once quipped that “the greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated,” remarking that the Maltese nation has nothing to be proud of in this regard. From time to time there are cases of animal abuse that are disturbing to the general public, the majority of whom have the animal’s well-being at heart, said the magistrate.

The Court however, also noted that the prosecution had not identified who was responsible for the surgical intervention and had instead relied on the information obtained from the Animal Welfare department.

Additionally, the prosecution had failed to submit any evidence as to the provenance of the photos of the dog. A police constable testifying in the proceedings said that he had seen the Facebook profile of the mother, but had been unable to locate the photos of the dog before and after it had its ears cropped.

The court declared the parents to be innocent, clearing them of all five charges relating to the breach of animal welfare laws over the cropping of the dog’s ears. The son, Kelvin Magri, was fined for not microchipping the dog.

Inspector Elliot Magro prosecuted.