Man who carried out horrendous cropping of doberman's ears banned from owning dogs for life
A man has been banned from keeping dogs for life and narrowly avoided an immediate jail term after leaving his pet to suffer with infected cropped and taped ears.
Ali Raza Nazam, 27, was sentenced to 12 weeks in prison, suspended for one year, following an investigation and prosecution by the RSPCA.
On January 17, 2022, the animal welfare charity was contacted by a vet who reported concerns for the welfare of a doberman, named Georgia, who had been brought into surgery by Nazam.
Both of the dog's ears were said to be "severely" injured, with flesh exposed and the ear flaps having visibly separated from the dog's head.
Georgia, who also had a docked tail and had undergone removal of her dew claw, had both external parts of her ears cropped, with infection present as a result.
The pooch – who was born in Serbia and imported from Hungary – had been in Nazam's care for just five weeks when she was rescued by the RSPCA.
On December 10, 2021, after sending a digital picture to Georgia's previous owner in Serbia, Nazam received advice on how to make her cropped ears stand erect.
Nazam, of Highfield Road, Birmingham, claimed he taped the dog’s ears and applied sticks on January 12, 2022, before noticing blood the following day.
Alongside a lifetime disqualification and suspended prison sentence, Nazam, who was found guilty at an earlier hearing, has been ordered to pay £3,000 costs.
He was also told to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work and 20 rehabilitation requirement activity (RAR) days when he was sentenced at Birmingham Magistrates Court on August 18.
Inspector Boris Lasserre, who investigated for the RSPCA, said: "We are unfortunately seeing a trend for cropping dogs' ears, and then taping or splinting to promote a false aesthetic where dogs' ears look permanently alert.
"There are no benefits to dogs, it’s simply a fashion trend that compromises dog welfare. There is no evidence of any benefit to performing cropping or taping of dogs' ears.
"It’s heartbreaking to see dogs, like Georgia, mutilated and forced to suffer simply because their owners consider it to look more attractive. Animals are not toys or accessories, they deserve our care and respect."
The RSPCA has said the soft tissue damage to Georgia's ear flaps was unfortunately too extensive to repair, and she required both external parts of her ears, the pinnas, to be removed by vets.
The charity has received 1,191 reports related to ear cropping since the start of 2020.
A veterinary report that was presented to the court, said: "Nazam states that just 24 hours after he had applied the tape to the ears there was blood present.
"If this was the case then the tapes must have been applied in such a way to have cut through the skin resulting in the extensive lacerations to the base of the ear pinnae.
"This may have occurred via two mechanisms - either he applied the tapes very tightly cutting directly into the skin, or the tapes had been in place for much longer causing a gradual pressure necrosis of the ear pinnae.
"In my opinion, the needs of Georgia had not been met to the extent required by good practice due to the person responsible for the welfare of this animal applying tape to the ear pinnae resulting in skin lacerations and extensive ischaemic necrosis of the ear pinnae, thereby failing to protect this animal from injury, pain and suffering.
"Her needs have not been met to the extent required by good practice due to the person responsible failing to seek prompt veterinary advice regarding the ear injuries. Georgia was caused to suffer as a consequence of this delay."
Since her rescue, Georgia has made a full recovery under the care of the animal welfare charity and can now be found a new home.
