Young lambs often have their tails docked to help keep their rear ends clean, which reduces the risk of fly strike. Male lambs are often castrated, mainly to make them easier to manage in later life.
Removing tails from lambs at a young age is accepted practice in Australia because it reduces the incidence of flystrike.
Studies show varying results in terms of the relative pain associated with ring or knife methods. Short tail docking, where the tail is docked shorter than the third palpable joint, is currently practised in some breeds.
The simplest and most common method of tail docking is to apply a rubber ring (band) to the tail using an elastrator tool. Banding is a bloodless method of tail docking. The band cuts off the blood supply to the tail, and the tail falls off in 7 to 10 days. Some producers cut the “dead” tail off before it falls off.
Tail docking induces considerable discomfort in young lambs. Short docking of the tails of lambs has also been linked to increased incidence of rectal prolapse.
To eat, the blackened skin is removed revealing flesh which is gnawed off the thin tail bone like eating a kebab off a skewer. Eating tails was somewhat like eating ribs, without the benefit of being able to lick your fingers for they were covered in black, gritty ash.
(2017) observed that tail docking of 45-days old lambs may induce long-term consequences, such as primary hyperalgesia and chronic pain (hyperalgesia 3 mo. after tail docking). Nevertheless, tail docking is commonly carried out as a routine procedure in husbandry practices, frequently without any pain control.
Inflammation and damage to the tissues also cause ongoing pain while the wound heals. There is also the risk of infection or other complications associated with this unnecessary surgery. Tail docking can also cause unnecessary and avoidable long term chronic pain and distress to the dog.
Background: Tail docking is common practice in the sheep industry to prevent soiling of the breech and flystrike. To ensure optimal healing after tail docking and reduce the risk of arthritis, perineal cancers and prolapses, it is recommended to dock tails equivalent to the length of the vulva.
Slaughter: Lambs
The majority of sheep killed in Australia are lambs, slaughtered around 6 – 8 months of age. Sheep can naturally live up to 20 years, with a typical lifespan of 10-12 years. Every year an average of 22.72 million lambs are slaughtered.
Sheep and dairy calves are mostly subjected to an 'electrical stunning' device that sends an electric current across the brain, rendering them unconscious. This is the fate of a staggering 31 million sheep and 8 million cattle every year in Australia.
An earmark is a cut or mark in the ear of livestock animals such as cattle, deer, pigs, goats, camels or sheep, made to show ownership, year of birth or sex.
Farmers suggest that the practice of tail docking reduces the transmission of diseases carried by cows, such as Leptospirosis, to workers. Producers also suggest docking improves ease of milking, and makes milking more comfortable for the workers because the shortened tail is less likely to hit people.
But the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) opposes docking and cropping. “The most common reason for cropping and docking is to give a dog a certain look. That means it poses unnecessary risks,” Patterson-Kane says. Docked tails can also develop a neuroma, or nerve tumor.
Lambs' tails contain nerves, blood vessels, and vertebrae. Severing the flesh and bone in this tender area is inevitably painful for the animals.
Survey data indicate that preventive tail docking of pet dogs is unnecessary. Therefore tail docking of non-working dogs, even if their breed was originally developed for working purposes, is considered a cosmetic procedure unless evidence exists to the contrary.
“Is it cruel to dock a dog's tail?” YES. Dogs “talk” with their tails. They use them for balance. Tail docking is typically done when puppies are just a few days old, without anesthetics to numb the pain.
When a dog's tail is docked, they can develop an infection or even a nerve tumor called a neuroma. Either of these will be painful, and could even cause the dog to become overly protective of his tail. Dogs use their tails to communicate with each other and humans to express happiness, fear, anger, and excitement.
Across a range of countries routine tail docking of dogs is considered unacceptable by most veterinarians (83 to 92%15) and the general public (68 to 88%16).
For practical reasons it is done to avoid fly strike and to reduce fecal soiling. Fly strike occurs when blow flies lay their eggs in soiled and wet wool, mostly around a soiled and moist rear end of a sheep, The emerging larvae (maggots) can cause health problems, including death.
It is an outdated practice that involves cutting or crushing muscle, nerves, and bone without anaesthetic in puppies under 5 days old. Evidence indicates that it inflicts significant pain on puppies and deprives dogs of an important form of canine expression in future life.
We advise against eating lam raw. Most common food borne pathogens associated with undercooked meat including lamb are : E Coli , Salmonella & Norovirus.
High in Protein, Low in Fat and a tasty alternative to Pizzle, our Lamb Tails are a Longer Lasting chew which is crunchy and chewy from the natural cartilage and bone content making these perfect for cleaning your dogs teeth and gums. Hypoallergenic, these are perfect for those with an allergy or sensitivity to Beef.
There are no ears, no skin, and a much smaller tongue, which I prefer to remove for confit or stewing. The major attraction of the lamb's head is plenty of tender, juicy cheek meat that comes off easily with a brief prodding of the carving knife.