Below is the letter template we have created to send to your local MP. Please copy and paste into Microsoft Word (or word processor of your choice), amending with the name of your MP and your name where indicated.
Subject: Urgent Appeal to Amend the Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Bill – A Lifeline for Rescue Dogs
Dear [Lord/Lady/Baroness] [Name],
My name is [Enter your name] and I am writing to you on behalf of The Pointer Rescue Service, a UK-based charitable organisation devoted to rescuing and rehoming Pointer gun dog breeds across Europe. I wanted to draw your attention to an urgent and deeply heartfelt plea.
Together we have to protect the future of countless vulnerable dogs—dogs who have suffered abandonment, neglect, and abuse, and who are now facing an unintended consequence of well-meaning legislation.
The Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Bill is undoubtedly a pivotal step forward for animal protection. However, as it currently stands, it threatens to inadvertently shut the door on the very animals we work tirelessly to save.
The proposed ban on the importation of dogs with docked tails, while aiming to prevent cruel cosmetic docking practices, does not differentiate between unethical breeders and legitimate rescue cases. This could mean that dogs who have already suffered at the hands of humans—ex-working dogs such as English Pointers, Cross Breed Pointers, German Shorthaired Pointers, Brittanys, and other gun dogs—could be denied the chance of rescue, rehabilitation, and a new life in loving UK homes.
Many of the dogs The Pointer Rescue Service rescue have had their tails docked as part of their past working life, often on the continent where docking is still legal for hunting breeds. Some are naturally bobtailed, like the Brittany. These animals are not luxury imports—they are victims of a throwaway culture where working dogs are abandoned when no longer “useful.”
In these countries, the alternative for these dogs is stark: overcrowded shelters, lives lived in fear, or death.
If the current wording of this Bill passes unamended, we will no longer be able to bring them to safety. It will mark the end of our mission for docked breeds. The Pointers and Brittanys currently in our care may be the last to ever find sanctuary here in the UK.
I am asking for your support in ensuring that the Bill includes clear exemptions for legitimate rescues of dogs whose tails were docked due to prior working life, not cosmetic intent.
I urge you to consider:
• An exemption for registered, non-profit rescue organisations rehoming ex-working dogs with docked tails.
• Clear guidance to differentiate unethical docking practices from the legitimate rehoming of dogs who had no say in their past.
These small amendments could mean the difference between life and death for hundreds of dogs every year.
As someone entrusted with shaping the future of animal welfare in this country, your voice carries power. Please help us ensure that compassion, not red tape, guides this legislation.
With deepest respect and hope,
……………………………………………………
[Enter your name above]
