Vets have warned against a painful cosmetic procedure designed to give animals cartoonish ‘Mickey Ears’.
The dangerous, painful, and unnecessary procedure has sparked outrage in China where it has become an increasingly popular trend.
Pet clinics are offering to cut the ears of cats and dogs to resemble the Disney character for as little as 300 yuan (£33).
More worryingly, local news outlets have also uncovered dozens of online stores selling ‘DIY’ clamps to mutilate animals’ ears at home.
However, animal experts warn the procedure could leave animals in pain, damage their hearing, and limit their ability to communicate.
Vets have warned against a dangerous and painful procedure that gives pets cartoonish ears resembling Mickey Mouse
The procedure is a form of ear cropping, which cuts away at the ears of animals to give them a particular shape.
Cropping the ears of pets into a round shape reminiscent of Mickey Mouse is becoming an increasingly popular trend in China.
To produce the Mickey Ear shape, animals must undergo two separate procedures.
First, they must be put under anaesthetic for a half-hour operation to cut the ear.
The second stage is a ‘styling phase’ that can take between 20 to 60 days and requires frequent adjustments to get the ear to stay in position.
The procedure is currently rare in most pet hospitals but can be common in breeding facilities and dog kennels, the South China Morning Post reported.
During the procedure, pets’ ears are cut into round shapes and forced to stand up over a 20-to-60-day period of corrections
Adverts like this have sparked outrage in China after some veterinary clinics offered to reshape pets’ ears for as little as £33
Perhaps more worrying, local reporters discovered that unlicensed online shops have been selling tools for pet owners to carry out the cruel procedure themselves.
One advert in particular for a veterinary clinic in Chongqing, southwestern China, has sparked controversy on Chinese social media platforms.
The ad offers ‘Mickey Ear’ clamps for sale, and notes that whether these can be delivered before the Spring Festival would depend on the ‘factory’s production schedule’.
Sohu News, a Chinese media outlet, reported that online sellers were offering specialised clamps that restrict the blood flow to parts of an animal’s ear, causing it to die and fall off.
These haemostatic clamps are offered in a number of different sizes with sets of 40 on sale for 196 yuan (£21.60).
Sadly, there is no law forbidding the procedure in China currently.
However, members of the public are now urging the government to outlaw the operation and crack down on the unscrupulous vets carrying it out.
An advert posted to social media announces that the sale of ‘Mickey Ear’ clamps has now begun and shows details of their use on animals
Hemostatic clamps like this are being sold by unlicensed vendors online allowing pet owners to perform the cruel procedure themselves
Bill Lambert, health, welfare, and breeder services executive at The Kennel Club, told MailOnline that this procedure could be extremely damaging to dogs’ wellbeing.
‘Dogs are not fashion accessories, and such procedures are cruel and unnecessary, and have no consideration for dog welfare,’ he said.
‘Dogs regularly use their body language to show how they are feeling, which includes movement of their ears, so as well as causing stress, pain and discomfort, altering their appearance in this way can be detrimental to the bond between you and your dog, and a dog’s ability to communicate.’
Dogs turn their ears independently to funnel sound into their ear canals, so changing the shape of the ear may be detrimental to their hearing.
While the procedure is currently legal in China members of the public have been calling for the operation to be banned
Any form of ear cropping is illegal in the UK, as is tail docking unless it is performed for medical reasons.
However, the RSPCA has reported a significant rise in the number of dogs having their ears cropped in the UK.
Between 2015 and 2019, the RSPCA saw a 236 per cent increase in the number of dogs coming into care with cropped ears.
Dominika Jagoda, companion animals expert at the RSPCA, told MailOnline: ‘Not only is this a form of ear cropping, which we are opposed to and is illegal to carry out in England and Wales, but it also prioritises looks and perceived cartoonish “cuteness” over welfare.
‘We’re concerned that some prospective dog owners are unaware that this is illegal and that celebrity culture and images on social media may be normalising this cruel practice and may even increase its popularity.’
While it is illegal to crop a dog’s ear or send a dog abroad to have its ears cropped, it is not illegal to buy a dog that already has cropped ears.
This means that people may buy animals that have undergone the unnecessarily cosmetic procedure without knowing it is illegal.
Prominent celebrities including boxer Nicola Adams, Love Island’s Jack Fincham, and Little Mix’s Leigh-Anne Pinnock have all been pictured with their cropped-ear dogs.
However, there is no indication that these individuals broke the law or knew about the process.
