Electronic Collars (England) Regulations

Background 

• In April, the Government announced a very welcome ban on the use of electronic collars. 
• The Government had previously announced a ban in 2018, we therefore welcome the regulations which are due to come into force next year. 
• However, there is currently a delay in passing the regulations as no date has been set for the final stages of legislation. 
• We want to see the legislation passed through the Commons as soon as possible. 

Electronic Collar Impact on Welfare 

Electronic collars work by delivering an electronic pulse to suppress unwanted behaviour. They work on the principle of positive punishment: applying an aversive stimulus to inhibit behaviour and are also referred to as asversive training techniques. 

Electronic collars can compromise the welfare of cats and dogs by increasing their fear or anxiety about the situation in which it is used. 

They also decrease a dog's ability to learn and can cause the associating of other coincidental events with a fear provoking event which can lead to other berhavioual issues, such as aggression, developing. Crucially, and with all punishment based methds which do not address the root causes, they do not teach the animal what is actually required of them and therefore do not generate long term resolution. 

DEFRA's Code of Practice for the Welfare of Dogs in England specifically states that you should "only use positive reward based training. Avoiding harsh, potentially painful or frightening training methods."