Fresh call to ban cruel electric shock devices
 |
Defra-funded research has found that the use of electric shock collars on dogs can cause negative behavioural and physiological changes in the animals.
It also discovered that these collars were not more effective than positive reinforcement methods, despite this being the main argument for their use, and they were open to misuse as owners tended not to read the manual or, in some cases, were not provided a manual.
The Kennel Club is urging the government to take action following two different research studies which found conclusive proof that electric shock collars do not deliver the promises the manufacturers claim and could actually cause more behavioural problems than they solve.
Research funded by the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) identified negative behavioural and physiological changes in a significant proportion of dogs which were trained with an electric shock collar in comparison to the non-electric shock collar control group of dogs in the study. It also provided evidence that some owners even failed to consult the accompanying instruction manual before using the device on their dogs.
Furthermore, a second piece of research, which involved the Electronic Collar Manufacturers Association, also concluded that electric shock collars are not more effective than positive reinforcement methods (such as reward based training) for recall and chasing, which are cited as the two main reasons for the use of electric shock collar training on dogs.
The findings from these reports are shocking but are of no surprise to the Kennel Club, which has campaigned to ban electric shock collars in the UK and has successfully achieved a ban in Wales. Caroline Kisko, Kennel Club Secretary said: “There is no denying the results of these two surveys - action needs to be taken now to prevent further harm being done to the UK’s dogs.
“The first study provided strong evidence on its own, but the second research project which was clearly biased through its involvement with the Electronic Collar Manufacturers Association, speaks volumes. Even with industry trained professionals, and the project being conducted by an organisation with a clear agenda, it was still found that electric shock collars often had a detrimental effect on dogs and did not prove to be a better alternative than training using positive reinforcement.
“Both project findings and conclusions have tremendous implications on animal welfare, and fully support the certainty of many animal welfare organisations such as the Kennel Club that fundamentally electric training devices fail to address underlying behaviour and can cause further behaviour problems by training a dog to respond out of fear of further punishment rather than a natural willingness to obey. The availability of positive training methods far outweighs the need for techniques based on aversion or pain.”
Following these damning reports, the Kennel Club expects that Defra and the rest of the devolved administrations will announce a ban on electric shock collars. Previous Defra Ministers have stated that the government will not consider any proposals regarding a ban on electric shock collars until the peer review process has been completed and these research study project reports are made available, which they have now been.
The Kennel Club has written to Ministers in Westminster, Scotland and Northern Ireland to discuss this important issue in greater detail and hopes to hear from the Ministers regarding their departments’ next steps in this matter.
For further information on the Kennel Club’s campaign against electric shock collars, visit www.thekennelclub.org.uk/banshockcollars
|
|
