WARRINGTON South MP Faisal Rashid is backing a campaign to outlaw the sale of electronic shock dog collars.
He recently attended the launch of Dogs Trust’s, the its #ShockinglyLegal campaign to help push the Government to outlaw the sale of electronic shock collars.
Faisal attended a drop-in event in Parliament to pledge his support to help ban the use and sale of the aversive training devices.
A recent poll revealed around a third (31%) of the public wrongly believe shock collars are already illegal, yet despite public opinion, buying and using one of these painful devices to correct a dog’s behaviour, is still lawful in England.
84% of people know that shock collars cause a dog pain, but the sad reality is that they are still readily available to buy. These devices can send between 100 to 6000 Volts2 to a dog’s neck, and have the ability to continuously shock a dog for up to 11 terrifying seconds at a time. Research shows that physical effects can include yelping, squealing, crouching, and physiological signs of distress in direct response to an electric shock. It’s not just shock collars – spray and sonic collars are also widely for sale.
Whilst the use of electronic shock collars is banned in Wales, and Scotland has also made moves towards prohibiting the use of these cruel devices, England is dragging its heels.
Faisal said “I am delighted to pledge my support to Dogs Trust in calling for a ban on the use and sale of electronic shock collars.
“These aversive training methods are outdated and cruel, and there is no need for them to be used when there are so many positive training methods available.
“This is a hugely important issue for dog welfare, which is why I am backing calls for an immediate ban of these devices.”
Rachel Casey Director of Canine Behaviour and Research at Dogs Trust explained: “We are appalled that it is still legal to buy and use electronic shock collars in England – 83% of dog owners polled said they wouldn’t use them so why on earth are they legal? It is both unnecessary and cruel to resort to the use of these collars on dogs. This type of device is not only painful for a dog, it can have a serious negative impact on their mental and physical wellbeing. A dog can’t understand when or why it’s being shocked and this can cause it immense distress, with many dogs exhibiting signs of anxiety and worsened behaviour as a result.”
“Positive based methods, such as using rewards like food, are the most effective and kindest way to train your dog, so there is absolutely no need for owners to even consider the use of these devices. We urge everyone who loves dogs to consider the impact that using these kinds of devices can have on our four-legged friends, and join with us in asking your MP for an immediate ban on their sale and their use.”
2 Comments
Gosh the South MP is outdoing the North in press release by a couple of lengths and we’re not even close to the Grand National.
Anyone would think that there was an election in the air.
Good grief I didn’t even know shock collars existed and that’s awful to read. They should be banned 🙁 Is there a petition people can sign? I will google as maybe the Dogs Trust have set one up.
Geoff Settle…. I do have to say that I found your comment reply rather awful and you seemed to have completely overlooked the actual issue in your reply.
I always though you were an animal lover based on other posts from you over the years re conservation & wildlife etc etc. Ok so dogs are not ‘wildlife’ but they still need ‘protection’ and yet all you seemed to focus on re this story is the fact that an MP is ‘hitting’ the news pages and ‘possibly’ outdoing another !?!
Good grief Geoff not everything is about blummin’ Politics and Party point scoring 🙁
PS I am not a Party follower and I have no idea is there’s an election coming up or not…I don’t care one jot…but I DO care about aminal welfare and where some are suffering needlessly then it needs STOPPING and the more that talk about it and spread the word to get it stopped the better. Slight rant over….