News – Shock Dog Collars ‘Complete Ban’

A proposed ban on electric shock dog training devices in Wales will be re-written to make it a complete ban, says the minister who wants to bring it in.

Rural Affairs Minister Elin Jones said more than half the responses during consultation on the ban were in favour.

The collars are used on dogs by some to give an electric shock when the dog is deemed to be behaving incorrectly.

Ms Jones said she agreed with the argument that allowing exemptions to the ban would be difficult to police.

Ms Jones said last year that she planned to ban the use of such collars, mats and leads because of concerns that pets were suffering.

Manufacturers have said they were “puzzled and disappointed” by the decision.

The plan went to public consultation from 4 March to 27 May this year.

Difficult to police

In a statement, Ms Jones said the range of people and organisations responding included dog trainers, vets, manufacturers of the devices and members of the public.

She said: “Many of the respondents commented that there could be considerable difficulty in policing the exceptions.

“These difficulties included the length of time for which a collar was used and whether the collar had been fitted and used in accordance with the provisions.

“I am persuaded by these representations and have decided to remove the exceptions from the draft.”

The statement said the minister was required to re-notify the European Commission of her proposal to amend the legislation.

Once the European Commission had received the proposals, Ms Jones said she expected the process to take three months.