Cosmetic Surgery for Animals

The mayor of West Hollywood has proposed a law that makes "tail-docking" and "ear-cropping" of dogs illegal. This liberal city is the one that made the declawing of cats, one of the most painful cosmedic procedures of them all, illegal two years ago. This topic struck interesting because whether or not the way a company turns a profit is ethical is often a topic for debate. Is the sale of magnetic yellow ribbons for people's cars when the profit isn't donated to the mourning families eithical? Is doesn't seem right to turn a profit off of someone elses pain. The question is then why cut off parts of the dogs we breed in order to make them conform to some human-authored breed standards? Most of us probably did not even realize how ridiculous this sounds because it is such an accepted part of our society. Why make our animals go through these painful and unneccesary procedures? Veterinary science is a profitable industry (as most of us know from having to take our pets to the costly veterinarian) but cosmedic surgery for our cats and dogs may be crossing the line.