Two online retailers have removed dog ear cropping and ear straightening kits from sale after pressure from the British Veterinary Association (BVA).
BVA President Justine Shotton wrote to eBay UK last month to flag up three listings for ear cropping kits being sold by international retailers via the website, and to share concerns raised by vets and animal welfare organisations through the #CutTheCrop campaign.
At the same time, she wrote to Etsy UK and Amazon UK to point out vets’ concerns about the easy availability of ear straightening or correcting accessories for sale on their platforms.
Etsy and eBay have taken action to remove the kits from sale, reported BVA, and also promised to update their algorithms to filter similar products out in future.
Amazon UK responded by saying it does not support ear cropping and removed cropping kits from its site last year, but has no plans to remove straightening kits from sale.
Dr Shotton said: “We took action after being made aware by a few vets about the availability of ear cropping kits on eBay UK. Our research also found a number of listings for ear straightening accessories being sold via several other major online websites.
“The swift and positive action by the two major retailers is a small but significant animal welfare win for our #CutTheCrop campaign. While Amazon has taken action on cropping kits, it is disappointing that it has declined to remove straightening kits that fuel the trend for the cropped look from sale.”
