Not too long ago, Animal Hospital had a bit on it about a puppy with a mangled tail. It was obviously attempted to be cut by a lay person. On that program the veternarian made comments about docking which were deliberately misleading. Below is the response I just received:

Dear Sierra Milton

Thank you for your e-mail regarding 'Animal Hospital'.

I am sorry to note you were concerned that inaccurate information was given out on the programme. 'Animal Hospital' is an observational documentary series which means that we record events as they happen and do not intervene with the work done in the hospital or the opinions held by the veterinary surgeons. Nevertheless, there is never an intention to mislead the audience by including information that is inaccurate.

The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons' Guide to Professional Misconduct states that docking is illegal if performed by a lay person; and should only be performed by a qualified vet for preventative reasons, ie. if the dog is certainly going to be a working dog. The Royal College believes that docking for cosmetic reasons is unethical and is firmly opposed to the practice. In light of this, we agree the statement made on the programme was not fully qualified.

In light of the feedback received on this issue, the producer has decided to cover the issue in more detail on next week's programme (4th December), explaining the guidelines provided by The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. We hope this additional information will remove any confusion that may have been caused by the comment.

In the meantime, thank you again for taking the trouble to bring this issue to our attention.

Regards

Brian McGettrick
BBC Information

Me sitting at the computer feeling shocked, surprised, and once again impressed by Sierra's ability to get a reaction out of people!!!!!!!! :)
You Go Girl!

Quinn

I shall be watching this with the greatest of interest but I can't help thinking that all we will get is a one sided view, technically correct but slanted all the same! Maybe I'm just an old cynic!

John

well done you!!!hope they dont make a mockery of it, you're never sure with these type of things.

I am going to be watching with the same trepeditation as you, John. But I will also be prepared to demand equal opportunity if they want to play that game on a publicly funded channel. I have already notified the BBC of my expectations that both sides will be fairly represented and my recommendation that a member of the Council of Docked Breeds be allowed equal time.

Good for you Sierra!

Regards John

Well done Sierra!! When I first put a post on the boards about the vets inaccurate statement I was really pleased with the response from everyone. I did try to contact the beeb by e-mail but failed dismally (I'm afraid to admit technology is not one of my strong points). I shall watch dear Rolph with added interest!!
Jackie