Collars that shock pets help to keep them SAFE, insist vets
COLLARS which give pets mild electric shocks to help keep them safe in gardens are humane and in the animals’ best interests, vets say.
The collars are used by 40,000 pet owners in the UK and buzz before sending a mild electrical pulse to the animal if it crosses a boundary.
Others, known as remote training devices, allow an owner or trainer to deliver a shock to the animal at the push of a button if it misbehaves.
Last month the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs announced a ban on both types of collar after pressure from the RSCPA and other animal rights campaigners. It could come into force as early as the end of this month. But a group of vets oppose the decision, saying the collars used to keep pets from wandering should not be banned.
‘The pet is in control and quickly learns not to go close to the boundary,’ the group of 11 wrote in a letter to The Times yesterday.
‘We are confident in the sound science that shows that these garden systems do no harm to pets. They instead stop them joining the 300,000 cats and countless dogs killed on the roads every year.’ On the other hand, the remote training collars should be regulated because there is evidence that they can upset dogs, they said.
In the Mail last month Quentin Letts told how he believes the collars keep his dogs safe. He said the electric pulse was more of ‘a static charge’, adding: ‘If you think they are scared of their collars, please explain why they happily sit at my feet while I fix them in place.’
It is not yet clear what punishments pet owners can expect to receive if they are caught using the collars.