In Banbury today there was a large 'staffy-type' dog, brindle and white, trotting through the town centre unaccompnaied ... and it had cropped ears. Never seen that before - how ugly it is. It made me wonder if it was imported or an illegal DIY job.

Cancer of the ears?  White ears are very susceptible ;)  Have always thought ear cropping of any kind is revolting - even just as a visual thing.  :(

I don't think so. The dog looked very like this.

DIY job I bet,  how old did it look?

That's disgusting and disgraceful    Why would anyone want to lop off a dog's ears?

Got to remember that ear cropping was banned here (first country in the world to do so) in the late 1800's so we really aren't used to it.

I recently saw a Dobe with cropped ears (probably an import) and a friend reported seeing a staff/type with cropped ears a few weeks ago (almost certainly DIY).

When Holland banned ear cropping they also made it illegal to import and/or own a dog with cropped ears. Perhaps we should take their cue, because there is nothing to stop importation of them and it's hard to prove a DIY job.

I could not believe my eyes in the USA where I regularly saw many pet dogs with cropped ears - not only bull breeds and dobes but Boxers and Great Danes as well. As a young kid I went right off Scooby Doo when I realised he is meant to be a Dane.... with cropped ears. The whole idea sickens me, as it did Queen Victoria a hundred years ago, who at the same time -or thereabouts- banned cropping horses' tails for the sake of fashion too.

> I could not believe my eyes in the USA where I regularly saw many pet dogs with cropped ears

Its the norm to do this to many breeds in Northern America(USA and Canada)..
Seeing Pitbulls with cropped ears didn't shock me so much as the Danes(being the worst :-(, Bouvier's and Schnauzer's. I went to a show and was amazed at how hideous some dogs looked, the Danes i'd point out again. It is what we are used to I guess.
I've shown pictures to my friends of Boxers and Danes with ears, they think they look funny, because they aren't used to them. I guess like tails on dogs now that always used to be cropped.
I don't agree with it by any means...

> I don't agree with it by any means...

Me neither but until it's illegal to own a dog with cropped ears is it ever going to change?

It's alarming to me that we are seeing more dogs with cropped ears in the UK now as it's fashionable, even though illegal.... (and often on illegal breeds too). We probably have more crop-eared dogs here now than we ever had since that law was brought in.

How many people reading this have seen a crop-eared dog on an average UK high street?
Not many, but there are more now...!!

Considering it was banned here over a century ago, that's more than a bit scary. We need to make it illegal to own a crop-eared dog. They can't be shown with KC... what possible reason would there be for importing one anyway? Many many breeders overseas don't crop - if someone wanted to bring in a superb breeding dog which happens to have cropped ears, ok no probs, then make them apply for a special permit...!!! rather than just allowing it freely.... which is giving free rein to the sub-culture of DIY, and all ties in with looking hard, dogs as weapons, banned breeds, and possibly also dog fighting.

Some breeders of Boxers have bought in dogs from Europe whose ears have
been cropped prior to the ban of cropping ears in Europe.

They've not bought them into the country because of their ears (as they can't show them
in this country at all) but because of their bloodlines and what attributes that they have
to improve on faults/health issues within the breed as a whole.
(Plus would you want to be responsible for some breeds that were cropped/docked demise
if an awful health problem did crop up and to preserve that breed you had to bring in dogs from overseas
who were cropped/docked? - If you had a law that prevented you bringing in the best breed examples of what other countries
breeders were willing to sell you?)

Some are ex-pats who have lived overseas and then decided to return home with all
their companions who have been bred overseas some by show kennels who legally cropped
prior to any croppig/docking bans enforcement.

These owners aren't part of any hooligan element and some have/have had highly respected jobs in society.
I.E. Law enforcement etc.

So you can't tar all society with the same brush ;)

I prefer my breed who can still be docked/cropped in some countries worldwide to be natural eared :)
But it wouldn't stop me breeding to a cropped dog if I thought he was the best match for my bitch and
available for me to use in this country or overseas should I so choose. :)

PS Boxers are part of the 'Bull' breeds.
In their heritage the Boxers were created as a result of a cross between a Bullenbeisser (bit like a mastiff type of dog)
and a English Bull dog. So very much have 'Bull' breed heritage. 
Which is why some can't cope with their training needs & stubborness - they aren't a breed for the faint-hearted...
They do slobber, some more so than others (got the comment from a potential breed owner - will I be able to find one that doesn't slobber?). They can be a pain in the backside especially if not trained properly or in the right persons ownership.
Like any breed they are at risk because of irresponsible owners...and moreso because they are a bull breed.
I just have to hope that the undesireable element in society don't turn their attention in droves to my breed -
but am well aware that some already have - and it does worry me!
As with any breed 'at risk' of becoming the next 'status' symbol in society it's the irresponsible few that ruin it for the responsible majority :(