Eyes On Wales After Dog Collar Ban

"More dogs will die, more dogs will have to be re-homed.. Pet owners in Wales are now worse off than those in other parts of the UK." These are claims made today by the Electronic Collars Manufacturers Association, (ECMA) about the ban on the use of electronic cat and dog collars in Wales which finally came into force yesterday.

The ECMA calls the regulations "seriously flawed" because they ignore "significant scientific evidence" of the benefits of using such collars. If the Welsh Assembly does not quickly reverse its decision, says the ECMA, it will seek a Judicial Review in the High Court.

Julie Bedford, Head of Animal Behaviour Services at The Blue Cross charity, responds to the ECMA:

"Far from causing an influx of dogs into animal shelters, this ban should have the opposite effect as dogs trained through positive reinforcement are far more likely to respond and make long-term behavioural improvements. Of much greater concern to us would be those dogs who are permanently damaged through the ineffective use of shock collars who can then become unsuitable for rehoming."

The ban was announced by Wales' Rural Affairs Minister, Elin Jones, on 24 February. As of yesterday it became the first of its kind in the UK.

Elin Jones:

"It is important that owners are aware of the ban, and that they now take appropriate steps to comply with the law."

"The Welsh Assembly Government takes animal welfare very seriously, and I'm pleased that as a government, we are taking a proactive approach to promoting the welfare of animals by banning the use of such electronic training devices in Wales."

For some time now, the Scottish Government has been looking at similar regulation, however progress was stalled in 2008, when it announced that it would await the outcome of further research by Defra into the impact of such devices on dogs.

The ECMA wants a 'quick' reversal of the new regulations - why?

Well, if its projections are correct, we should see more out-of-control dogs dying in the Welsh lanes, and shelters filling up due to increasing behavioural problems. If it waits for those results to manifest, then surely the ECMA will have a stronger case in the High Court.

On the other hand, if the Blue Cross turns out to be right and, over time, shelter numbers start to come down, we might well be looking at an expansion of such laws across the land, and the end of the ECMA in the UK.