Meanwhile, the RoyalCollegeofVeterinarySurgeons (RCVS) has called on the government to commit to a full public inquiry into the handling of the epidemic.
Following the government move, the Council of the RoyalCollegeofVeterinarySurgeons in November 1992, ruled docking to be unethical, "unless for therapeutic or acceptable prophylactic reasons".
Furthermore, the circumstances in which the RoyalCollege considered prophylactic docking to be acceptable were so hedged with conditions as to make the routine docking of puppies by veterinarysurgeons extremely difficult.