# Petition to allow Descenting of Skunks



## Snakes r grreat (Aug 21, 2006)

Loulou posted this link in another thread, but i thought it deserved as much publicity as it can get.

Whether your a skunk keeper or not, i urge to to sign this to show the government the error of their ways with the Animal Welfare Act! 

Petition to: To Allow the De-scenting of Skunks.

Cheers

Jack


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## Esarosa (Jul 13, 2007)

signed


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## SiUK (Feb 15, 2007)

signed


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## This is my Clone (Jul 8, 2007)

What was the given reason for the ban? What are your grounds for protesting against it?


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## Young_Gun (Jan 6, 2007)

Done.


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## PendleHog (Dec 21, 2005)

EddieLizzard said:


> What was the given reason for the ban? What are your grounds for protesting against it?


Eddie.. the ban is part of secondary legislation associated with the new Animal Welfare Act concerning "mutilations".
This legislation states:



> From 6 April 2007 in England, and 28 March in Wales, the mutilation of animals is banned under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, with certain exemptions set out in Regulations. “Mutilation” covers any procedure that involves interference with the sensitive tissues or bone structure of an animal other than for therapeutic purposes (medical treatment).


De scenting is a non-medical alteration to the "sensitive tissues" and as such has been banned (along with the cosmetic docking of tails and cropping of ears on dogs for example).

The legislation also states:



> Certain procedures are exempt from the ban because of long-term welfare or management benefits.


It is hoped that descenting of skunks may be added to a list of exemptions as there ARE welfare benefits to having descenting skunks. A primary example would be that there are very few UK vets that will work with skunks that have not been descented. My current vet will.. but most will not.

This particular issue is my biggest concern and the main reason I would like to see descenting become exempt under the AWA, though reasons vary between keepers.


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## This is my Clone (Jul 8, 2007)

Thanks Pendlehog : victory:


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## welshgaz (Dec 12, 2005)

PendleHog said:


> It is hoped that descenting of skunks may be added to a list of exemptions as there ARE welfare benefits to having descenting skunks. A primary example would be that there are very few UK vets that will work with skunks that have not been descented. My current vet will.. but most will not.
> 
> This particular issue is my biggest concern and the main reason I would like to see descenting become exempt under the AWA, though reasons vary between keepers.


Han, do yo know how this secondary legislation works ? It can still be retracted but how do they go about doing it ? What time frames are they talking about ?


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## PendleHog (Dec 21, 2005)

welshgaz said:


> Han, do yo know how this secondary legislation works ? It can still be retracted but how do they go about doing it ? What time frames are they talking about ?


Apparently it can still be altered, but unfortunately I dont know the details. Hopefully Rory will reply, as he is supposed to be keeping up to date with these things..


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## sw3an29 (Jul 13, 2007)

signed


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## Angi (Nov 12, 2005)

Please excuse my ignorance, but could someone enlighten me to the benefits of having skunks descented ( other than the obvious odour)?


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## PendleHog (Dec 21, 2005)

Angi said:


> Please excuse my ignorance, but could someone enlighten me to the benefits of having skunks descented ( other than the obvious odour)?


I can't speak for all skunk owners, but in my eyes the main advantage (apart from the obvious lack of spray!) is that veterinary care is easier to obtain. My vet will treat whole skunks, but many will not. 

Almost no vets will spay whole skunks - female skunks (like ferrets) suffer from aplastic anaemia if not mated when in season, so it is important for pet skunks to be spayed.

It also becomes important if you have other animals in your household. Perhaps YOU dont mind being sprayed, but skunk spray can cause temporary blindness - I would be very upset if my dog/cat was injured because it alarmed my skunk one day!

Personally I also dislike keeping skunks outdoors, I feel they really benefit from human interaction and lets face it, most people would not be willing to keep a whole skunk in their home.


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## brittone05 (Sep 29, 2006)

Signed 

Couldn't agree more regarding the reasons for skunks becoming exempt from the AWA.

It is difficul because, for the majortyu of skunk keepers, they are stuk with either breaking section 5 and having a "mutilation" (hate that term) carried out or of section 4 for not having it done and being unable to seek medical attention for thier skunk thus causing "unecessary suffering".

It is difficult indeed but hopefully, things will be changed in skunks favour


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## HABU (Mar 21, 2007)

how do they get away with passing all of these animal laws there? do they just sit around and think them up or do you have a powerful animal rights group dominating everything?...it always sounds crazy to me. here the federal government rarely ever pass any laws like that. maybe concerning endangered animals but not pets. how is it the national governments business to get involved with pet keeping? it all confounds me. our systems are so different. more different all the time as i learn things here. and to think that i believe my government interferes with peoples personal live too much! i must have it made. most all of our laws concerning animals are local. and what's up with laws that are sweeping and have no exemptions? i'm american you know, but if i were british i'd be downright militant by now with all i've heard. how on earth do you keep a skunk with it's glands intact?...accidents do happen and that would be a disaster...it all sucks if you ask me.....


sincerely, a yank!:whistling2:


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## PendleHog (Dec 21, 2005)

Amen to that Habu!


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## Angi (Nov 12, 2005)

Thanks Pendlehog, very interesting info regarding female skunks too.

I am not planning on keeping skunks, but do know people who keep them and obviously enjoy them as pets, and I can also see their appeal. But I would like to know more, mainly out of curiosity and I like to keep up to date with current issues when I can. Are there any websites that skunk owners would recommend for some decent factual info? I wouldnt like to sign a petition without knowing more about the issues surrounding this topic and I do prefer to make informed decisions.


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## HadesDragons (Jun 30, 2007)

Signed.


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## PendleHog (Dec 21, 2005)

I dont know of any sites which go into great detail about the ethics surrounding skunk descenting Im afraid, but this may interest you:

Skunk Descenting

The link shows photographs of the stages involved in descenting a skunk. The skunk in question was also spayed.


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