Animal campaigners have called out the BBC for including scenes in Leigh-Anne Pinnock's documentary Race, Pop & Power showing her dog's cropped ears.
The documentary, which premiered on BBC Three on BBC iPlayer last month, sees the Little Mix star as she investigates racism in the UK music industry. Some of the scenes show Leigh-Anne at home with her American Bulldog Kyro.
Ear cropping is illegal in England and Wales under Section 5 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006. The act stipulates it is illegal to crop the ears of a dog yourself or to send your dog to a vet abroad to have the procedure done.
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Leigh-Anne and her fiancé Andre Gray reportedly purchased Kyro from celebrity dog breeder Simon Davis. After being found guilty of cropping dogs' ears, he received a suspended jail term and a 15-year ban from keeping animals and was fined £10,000.
Ear cropping is "a painful and completely unnecessary process where a dog's ear is cut or removed", which "can cause life-long health and behaviour problems," says the RSPCA.
The practice is still legal in other parts of the world, such as the USA and some European countries, and there's a fear that more and more dogs are being sent abroad for cropping, or being purchased and imported from overseas.
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The UK government are also working towards banning the importation of dogs with cropped ears into the country.
Criticism has come from MP Dr Neil Hudson, who told The Mirror that the scenes were "ill-judged."
Jordan Shelley, who supports the Flop not Crop campaign, has called on the BBC to cut the scenes, The Mirror reports.
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Figures released by the RSPCA in February this year show a 621 per cent increase in the number of reports of ear cropping and cropped ears raised with the animal welfare charity in the last six years.
From 2015 to 2020, the RSPCA received a total of 279 reports of the practice made to their emergency hotline.
A BBC spokesperson told Tyla: "Leigh-Anne Pinnock's important documentary explores her own personal experiences of racism.
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"This programme included some filming that took place in her own home - when her dog was present momentarily in the background.
"Shots were kept to minimum and only used where they were essential to the editorial of the programme, for instance because of the accompanying conversation."
Tyla has also contacted Leigh-Anne Pinnock's representatives for further comment.
Featured Image Credit: Leigh-Anne Pinnock - InstagramTopics: TV and Film, BBC, Leigh-Anne Pinnock