RSPCA welcomes electric shock collar ban in Wales

Wednesday, 25 June 2008 12:00 AM

The decision to ban the use of electric shock collars in Wales has been warmly welcomed by the RSPCA.

Elin Jones, the Minister for Rural Affairs, also announced that consideration will be given to whether their sale and possession should be included in the legislation.

The world's oldest animal welfare charity responded to a Welsh Assembly Government consultation earlier in 2008 on the use of electric training aids. The RSPCA argued that such aids cause unnecessary suffering to dogs and also promote aggression in a wide variety of species (1).

These devices have recently banned by the armed forces dog unit and also by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO).

Positive speech based training methods are recommended by the RSPCA, but where these are not appropriate, alternative aversion therapies are suggested. These include citronella spray collars which are already available and accepted by dog owners(2) .

David Bowles, RSPCA Head of External Affairs said: "We are delighted with the stance that the Welsh Assembly Government has taken in banning the use of these instruments of cruelty and we hope that the Welsh Assembly will go as far as to ban the sale and possession.

"This is the first major piece of legislation in Wales and England under the Animal Welfare Act and we fully support and congratulate the Minister on her commitment to improving the standards of animal welfare in Wales."

Ends

1 Heacock, D., Thurber, S., & Vale, D. 1975. Shock-elicited aggression by human subjects. Journal of Social Psychology 95. pp 55-59
2 Juarb Diaz, S.V. & Houpt, K.A., 1996. Comparison of two anti-barking collars for treatment of nuisance barking. Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association. 32. pp 231-235

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