The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)

Calls to ban electric shock dog collars are backed by charities

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Animal charities have backed calls for the Scottish Government to look at banning electric shock dog collars.

The Kennel Club, Dogs Trust and Scottish SPCA have all come out in support of Tory MSP Maurice Golden’s proposal, which also seeks a review into whether to make the theft of a pet a specific offence.

Mr Golden’s amendment to the Animals and Wildlife (Penalties, Protection­s and Powers) (Scotland) Bill – if passed by MSPs tomorrow – would commit the Scottish Government to consider the issues and publish a report by April 2025 at the latest.

Holly Conway, the Kennel Club’s head of public affairs, said: “The Scottish Government still hasn’t delivered on its promise of introducin­g an effective and prompt ban on electric shock collars, so this amendment could be a huge step forwards in finally prohibitin­g the use of these cruel and unnecessar­y devices, which tens of thousands of people in Scotland have signed a petition against.

“At the moment, while the use of shock collars isn’t advised, the devices are also not actually outright banned, meaning dogs are still suffering and being trained using fear and pain.

“Dog behaviouri­sts and trainers denounce them and research shows that they can cause severe interferen­ce and pain, and that dogs trained using confrontat­ional methods will continue to be aggressive – so why are electric training devices still legal?”

On the issue of pet theft, Ms Conway added: “The theft of a dog, or any pet for that matter, has an impact that far exceeds any associated financial loss.”

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