Electrical Shock Collars

In my view, no animal should be made to suffer unnecessary pain and degradation, and we must drive up standards and practice in line with the most recent advances and understanding. Many animal welfare organisations, including the Dogs Trust and the Kennel Club oppose the use of e-collars and instead promote positive training methods.

In 2014, the Government funded research on the use of e-collars on dogs. The research concluded e-collars can have long-term detrimental effects on the welfare of dogs, and in 2018 the Government announced its intention to ban hand-held remote-controlled electronic collars, encouraging the use of positive reward training methods. Following a public consultation in 2018 seeking views on its plans in England, the Government announced its intention to amend the Animal Welfare Act to implement such a ban.

Instead, as you may know, it announced draft regulations on 27 April 2023 to ban the use of these devices, introducing fines for those in breach of these regulations. This legislation will have to be approved before it comes into force. If passed, the regulations will come into force on 1 February 2024. I will follow developments on this matter closely.

I believe all animals, whether they are on a farm, at home as a pet, at large in the wild or in the sea, deserve protection.