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Posted: 20th May 2024

BVA writes to government for shock collar ban
The government had previously committed to the ban, but has missed its 1 February deadline.
The joint letter calls for an urgent meeting on the issue.

The British Veterinary Association (BVA) has contributed to a joint letter, which urges the government to ban the use of electronic shock collars in England.

The veterinary organisation says that the government had previously committed to the ban, but had since missed its original 1 February deadline.

It has now joined up with other animal welfare and veterinary organisations, including Dogs Trust, RSPCA and Blue Cross, to pen a letter to Steve Barclay MP, the secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs. The letter calls for an urgent meeting on the issue, and assigned parliamentary time to pass the ban.

The ban, known as The Animal Welfare (Electronic Collars) (England) Regulations, received approval in the House of Lords in June 2023 but has seen no further progress. There is no confirmed date for the legislation to be approved by the House of Commons.

The coalition supporting the ban have campaigned for several years for the legislation.

In the letter they cite research commissioned by Defra, which reached the conclusion that the routine use of shock collars presented a risk to a dog’s wellbeing. Even where collars were used in accordance with the collar manufacturer’s best practice, they affected dogs negatively.

Anna Judson, president of the British Veterinary Association, said: “Research shows that using fear and punishment as a training tool not only takes its toll on an animal’s overall welfare, it is also less effective than positive training methods.

“The electronic shock collar ban is an important piece of legislation with huge public support behind it, so it is crucial that it becomes law without any further delay.

“Alongside other members of the coalition, the British Veterinary Association is calling on the secretary of state to ensure that the government allows parliamentary time to pass these regulations and take an important step forward for dog training and animal welfare in the country.”

Image © Shutterstock



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