A dog trainer with more than 20 years experience has urged the Government to keep its promise to ban electric shock collars.
The use and sale of the devices is currently not prohibited in England despite the British Government having announced its aim to bring forward a legal ban.
Electric shock collars are due to be banned in February next year, but concerns have been raised at an apparent lack of progress getting legislation through Parliament.
Carolyn Menteith, a dog behaviourist and trainer accredited by The Kennel Club, told Express.co.uk the progressive dog training and behaviour industry was delighted by the Government’s commitment to ban and hoped to celebrate it being brought into effect in February.
Ms Menteith, who also chairs industry body the UK Dog Behaviour and Training Charter, added: “I’ve spent over 20 years living with dogs, working with dogs in this country and around the world. I’ve worked with dogs who have been easy, happy, family dogs and those who have been aggressive and highly dangerous.
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“I’ve never wanted to cause a dog pain to get them to do what I want. Electric shock collars are neither humane nor ethical. I also don’t want to cause a dog pain because that makes them a danger to me.
“We bring dogs into our homes and families because it is the one chance we have to choose our family members. We bring them into our homes for unconditional love.
“When you bring a dog into your life, you are responsible for training and educating that dog. You need to make sure they are safe and other people are safe from your dog.
“The best way to do that is through reward based training, education and control, not through pain and suffering.”
Electric shock collars are sometimes used as a training method to control behaviour or punish a dog for unwanted behaviour. They deliver an electric or static shock into a dog’s neck via a remote control or an automatic trigger for up to 12 seconds.
They have been banned in Wales since 2010 with anyone found guilty of using one on a dog or cat liable to up to a year in prison and/or a fine. The devices are currently legal in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The RSPCA and The Kennel Club are among the organisation which want to see the ban brought in as promised.
Mark Beazley, chief executive at The Kennel Club, told Express.co.uk: “Research has shown there is absolutely no need for cruel shock collars, which cause physical and psychological harm, given the vast array of positive training methods available, so it’s imperative the Government keeps its promise and bans these devices as a priority.
“This long-awaited piece of legislation, and action on animal welfare, must not be delayed.
“We urge dog lovers across the UK to support this ban and put pressure on the Government to follow through with their promises for animal welfare.”
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Fresh fears have been raised that the Government might row back on its commitment to outlaw the devices amid lobbying from commercial interest groups which want use of such devices which electrocute pets to continue, according to the RSPCA.
A survey carried out for the RSPCA’s #DogKind report found 88 per cent of dog owners agreed training methods shouldn’t frighten, worry or hurt dogs while just five percent said they used shock collars.
Given the overwhelming public support against the use of shock collars, and grave welfare issues connected with their use, the animal welfare charity launched a campaign giving supporters the opportunity to email their MP, asking them to put pressure on the Government to keep its promise to England’s dogs and cats.
Fears over the abandonment of a shock collar ban in England come just weeks after the Government binned its flagship Kept Animals Bill after the wide-ranging animal welfare legislation spent more than 550 days in parliamentary limbo.
David Bowles, Head of Public Affairs at the RSPCA, said: “We’re increasingly worried that – without decisive action from Ministers – the UK Government’s animal welfare agenda could soon be in tatters.
“The Kept Animals Bill promised so much for animals – including restrictions on the keeping of primates as pets, ending live exports and stopping the importation of mutilated dogs. But it was recently dropped – and while Ministers have pledged to bring these policies back by other means, these important animal welfare policies now face a race against time.
“Ironically, that Bill also included measures aimed at stopping sheep worrying by dogs – which is now being cited by those in favour of shock collars as a reason not to ban them.”
Mr Bowles said there is no evidence using shock collars to stop sheep worrying works as it is usually caused by unaccompanied dogs.
He added: “We fear this UK Government is rapidly rowing back on its promises which threaten to leave animal welfare in a precarious position. But if England wishes to be a leader in animal welfare, the UK Government needs to consign outdated shock collars to the history books once and for all.
“We are a nation of animal lovers and the UK Government must show us they remain committed to changing animals’ lives for the better.”
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