Mandatory desexing of dogs: one step in the right direction to reduce the risk of dog bite? A systematic review.

INTRODUCTION: Preventing dog bites is an intractable problem given the complex dog bite injury environment. Desexing of dogs has the opportunity of creating a safer injury environment, given the potential links between desexing and behaviour change in dogs. METHODS: A systematic review of the literature was conducted to examine the evidence for desexing of dogs to reduce dog bite risk within a population health paradigm. Medline and CAB Abstracts were searched for studies that reported data on the association of dog neuter status with the risk of dog bite. All definitions of dog bite were included and all empirical studies were included in the review, limited to those published in English. Quality appraisal and data extraction were based on the 2013 evidence-based practice and critical appraisal tool from the University of Auckland. RESULTS: Five out of six observational studies, from four study populations found evidence that intact dogs were associated with an increased risk of dog bite compared with desexed dogs. The effect sizes ranged across the studies and given the heterogeneity of the studies no single effect size on the association between desexing and dog bite risk could be estimated. CONCLUSIONS: There is consistent evidence that desexing dogs is associated with a reduced risk of dog bite, although the studies reflect association and may not be causal. Although recent publications have suggested desexing is associated with health and behavioural costs in some breeds, population level evidence supports desexed dogs having a longer lifespan, and being less likely to wander with the added benefit of reducing unwanted litters. Thus, mandatory desexing presents a possible opportunity for prevention of dog bites expanding dog bite prevention beyond an education-only approach.

The kindest cut? Surgical castration, sex offenders and coercive offers.

The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) have conducted visits and written reports criticising the surgical castration of sex offenders in the Czech Republic and Germany. They claim that surgical castration is degrading treatment and have called for an immediate end to this practice. The Czech and German governments have published rebuttals of these criticisms. The rebuttals cite evidence about clinical effectiveness and point out this is an intervention that must be requested by the sex offender and cannot occur without informed consent. This article considers a number of relevant arguments that are not discussed in these reports but which are central to how we might assess this practice. First, the article discusses the possible ways in which sex offenders could be coerced into castration and whether this is a decisive moral problem. Then, it considers a number of issues relevant to determining whether sex offenders are harmed by physical castration. The article concludes by arguing that sex offenders should not be coerced into castration, be that via threats or offers, but that there is no reason to think that this is occurring in the Czech Republic or Germany. In some cases, castration might be useful for reconfiguring a life that has gone badly awry and where there is no coercion, the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment are mistaken about this being degrading treatment.

[Castration of dogs from the standpoint of behaviour therapy]. / Kastration von Hunden aus Sicht der Tierverhaltenstherapie.

The castration of dogs is an amputation covered by Section 6 (1) of the Animal Protection Law in Germany. Apart from the general indications given by veterinary medicine, castration of an animal is a potential method of animal behaviour therapy. However, the highly variable, individual effects of castration on behaviour require detailed diagnosis by the veterinarian. Castration appears to exert its strongest influence on sexually dimorphic behaviour patterns in male dogs, e.g. status- related aggression, urine marking, mounting, house-soiling problems, and roaming. An indication to castrate a bitch is maternal aggression. When evaluating the effects of castration, one should always consider individual circumstances, such as learning experience (for example in the case of "experienced copulators"), age, and pack behaviour (if there is more than one dog in the household). Additional benefits of castration include a reduction in the dog's general activity level, decreased preparatory arousal and a decline in the dog's ability to focus its attention fully on the target of attack. As a result, it is much easier for the owner to disrupt and manage or control the dog's agonistic intentions. However, castration is not the ultimate remedy in dog-handling. Any decision in this respect should be based on a precise behaviour- related indication. Otherwise, such surgery may well violate the Animal Protection Law.