Dog welfare groups accuse government of ‘muzzling’ ban
SNP hounded over U-turn claims Electric shock collars not illegal
Dog welfare organisations have criticised the Scottish Government for failing to introduce an “effective and prompt ban” on electric shock collars.
A statement signed by the Kennel Club, the Dogs Trust, Battersea Cat and Dogs Home and the Animal Behaviour and Training Council, among others, accuses the government of doing a U-turn on its promised ban.
A cross-party group of MSPS has backed a call by the SNP’S Christine Grahame accusing the government of “backtracking”.
The parliamentary motion calls for the devices to be “banned unequivocally”.
In January, the government said the devices would be outlawed through guidance issued under existing Holyrood legislation.
Environment secretary Roseanna Cunningham said that, after listening to concerns, she had “decided to take steps to effectively and promptly ban” the use of the collars in Scotland.
She issued ministerial guidance for courts in cases involving the use of shock collars on dogs, but last month her cabinet colleague, rural affairs minister Mairi Gougeon, clarified the devices have not been banned.
In response to a parliamentary question by Labour’s Colin Smyth, Ms Gougeon said the “use of electronic training aids is not prohibited”.
She said the guidance issued means causing unnecessary suffering through the use of the collars may be an offence dependent on user knowledge.
In a statement, the dog welfare organisations said: “We are of the view that the Scottish Government has not delivered on its promise of introducing an effective and prompt ban on aversive training devices in Scotland.
“We no longer believe the guidance will be used effectively to educate dog owners that using unpleasant [aversive] stimuli or physical punishment, including electric shock collars, to train a dog is not appropriate.
“We now call on the Scottish Government to introduce regulations to ban all aversive training devices as a priority.”
Scottish Conservative MSP Maurice Golden, who started a petition calling for a ban that gained 20,000 signatures, said he was disappointed by the government’s “backtracking”.
He said: “The voices of thousands who have expressed a wish to ban electric shock collars should not be ignored.”
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “These claims are wrong. Our position on this issue has not changed.”
scott.macnab@scotsman.com