Joey Essex was "horrified" to discover his Doberman had his ears cropped abroad.
Joey Essex returns Doberman puppy after ear discovery
The 32-year-old TV star had planned to adopt the pooch from a family friend and had "fallen in love" with him, but he didn't want to give his fans the wrong message by justifying the "cruel procedure".
He told MailOnline: "I was horrified. I really wanted to give the dog a home, I fell in love with him. But me taking him on as a pet would justify this cruel procedure, which will give the wrong message to my fans and followers. I'm an animal lover."
The former 'TOWIE' star had initially welcomed the Doberman to his family home and alerted his 1.8million followers to the new arrival, but was faced with a backlash when fans noticed the dog had had his outer ears surgically altered.
TV vet Sean McCormack was quick to blast the move as a "kick in the teeth" to campaigners, with animal welfare activist Jordan Shelley reminding the reality star that ear cropping is a "brutal" and "illegal" cosmetic procedure.
Sean said: "What a disappointing development and quite frankly a kick in the teeth to all of us who have been tirelessly campaigning to stop the trend, practice and importation of dogs who have been mutilated for fashion by undergoing ear cropping!"
Jordan added: "Shame you felt the need to get a dog with mutilated ears. Ear cropping is a brutal illegal cosmetic mutilation. What a terrible example to be setting further normalising this abhorrent illegal procedure to all your following."
Following the outcry, the 'I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!' star is now encouraging his fans to sign a petition for Kept Animal Bill which will outlaw the procedure altogether.
He said: "I urge everyone to join me and sign this petition."
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