The UK\u2019s biggest organisation dedicated to the health and welfare of dogs has today (12 May) welcomed the Government\u2019s newly announced Action Plan for Animal Welfare. The first of its kind, the flagship plan aims to ensure the UK is leading the way in animal welfare and includes a ban on the use of electric shock collars, a move which has been long-campaigned for by The Kennel Club.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The use and sale of electric shock collars is currently not prohibited in England, with Wales being the only nation with regulations in place which prevent their use. Research funded by the Department of Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) demonstrated that electronic collars can have a detrimental effect on the welfare of dogs by causing them unnecessary harm and suffering, with 25 per cent of dogs trained with shock collars showing signs of stress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe fully support a total ban on both the use and sale of electric shock collars and are pleased that the Government have committed to this in their proactive action plan,\u201d commented Dr Ed Hayes, Head of Public Affairs at The Kennel Club. \u201cThese devices cause unnecessary pain and suffering for dogs and research has demonstrated that a reward-based approach is more effective than delivering painful electric shocks when training dogs. Leading veterinary bodies both in the UK and in Europe are aligned in their opposition against shock collars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe have been extensively lobbying the UK Government and the devolved administrations for years on this issue, urging them to ban the use of electric shock collars to train dogs. The Government previously committed to banning these harmful devices; however, a legal challenge has considerably delayed DEFRA from acting. A total ban on the use of these devices is well overdue and, as such, we welcome the Government\u2019s commitment this week to bring forward legislation on this issue \u2013 pending the outcome of the legal challenge \u2013 to protect the welfare of the nation\u2019s pets.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Via its action plan, the Government also announced its intentions to crack down on puppy smuggling and illegal imports. The importing of young puppies into the UK, often illegally, raises animal welfare and exploitation concerns, including transporting conditions, puppy farming, and illegal smuggling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dr Hayes added: \u201cBreeders have been unable to meet skyrocketing levels of demand that we\u2019ve seen throughout the pandemic, leaving importers and puppy farmers rushing to fill the gap. We welcome the Government\u2019s intentions to address this issue and to crack down on the abhorrent smuggling of puppies into the UK. Alongside this though, we also need the Government to recognise and support high welfare, low volume dog breeders in supplying healthy, happy puppies to families and new owners across the country. It\u2019s essential that the Government listens to all stakeholders and gets this right, in order to provide improved protection for dogs in the UK and further afield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe look forward to working with DEFRA and MPs to kick start this action plan and be a part of improving standards for dogs and making a real difference for our four-legged friends.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Further information about The Kennel Club\u2019s campaigns and lobbying activity can be found at thekennelclub.org.uk\/campaigns<\/a> and details about DEFRA\u2019s Action Plan for Animal Welfare are available at: gov.uk\/government\/publications\/action-plan-for-animal-welfare<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The UK\u2019s biggest organisation dedicated to the health and welfare of dogs has today (12 May) welcomed the Government\u2019s newly announced Action Plan for Animal Welfare. The first of its kind, the flagship plan aims to ensure the UK is leading the way in animal welfare and includes a ban on the use of electric … Continue reading \u2018OVERDUE\u2019 ELECTRIC SHOCK COLLAR BAN AMONGST NEW GOVERNMENT MEASURES WELCOMED BY THE KENNEL CLUB<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-445","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/obedienceuk.news\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/445","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/obedienceuk.news\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/obedienceuk.news\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/obedienceuk.news\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/obedienceuk.news\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=445"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/obedienceuk.news\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/445\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":446,"href":"https:\/\/obedienceuk.news\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/445\/revisions\/446"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/obedienceuk.news\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=445"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/obedienceuk.news\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=445"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/obedienceuk.news\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}