A vet has called for new laws to ban the docking of dogs' tails after saying public awareness campaigns have failed.

Britain is considering such laws and local vet Dr. Maureen Ware-Cieters of the Hanover Veterinary Hospital said it was time Bermuda did the same.

She said she was regularly seeing botched amateur attempts to remove puppy's tails which left animals in a lot of pain.

Some people used rubber bands to restrict circulation before hacking away.

"This method results in animals getting excruciating wounds," said Dr. Ware-Cieters yesterday.

"It comes in batches, now is not the time for puppies. It tends to be seasonal."

She said the professional way was to shorten the bone but amateurs left the bone showing which could then go septic.

Tails were vital for communication said Dr. Ware-Cieters as they could signal the mood of the dog which could prevent confrontations with other dogs.

Raised tails signalled "stay away" while lowered tails showed submissiveness.

She said: "Dogs without tails can be picked on because they can't show an approaching dog what it's mood is."

Tails are also used for help in defecation, acting as a sort of pump, but dogs who had been doctored could end up suffering from incontinence.

"A lot of people do it because they think they can pass their dog off as a pure breed.

"We need to be a bit more caring and respectable and stop treating animals as fashion accessories."

She said newspaper adverts had been placed advising against amateur docking of tails for ten years but the campaign had been halted this year because it made little difference.

Other forms of animal mutilation needed to be tackled said Dr. Ware-Cieters such as de-clawing of cats which made it difficult for them to climb away to escape dogs and left them powerless to hunt if they got lost.

Dr. Ware-Cieters said vets should take a moral stand about cutting off bits of animals' anatomy.

"Of those vets who want it I question if they are in the right profession."

She said laws saying what was ethical for vets to do were needed.

President of the Bermuda Veterinary Association Dr. Andrew Madeiros said Bermuda vets had already stopped ear docking, which is done on older dogs, but the tail issue was different as it was less traumatic for the animal.

"Fortunately we don't have a massive number of breeders on the Island so there's not a huge demand for it."

He said he reluctantly did tail docking along with another vet on the Island.

He said: "We both feel if we don't do them some non-vet will. It's an ethical question rather than about cruelty.

"At least when they come to us it is done correctly. If you don't do them people send them overseas."

He said he was open to a change of heart on the issue. He said: "We know in England they are looking at legislation."