HANSARD
Animal Welfare (Electronic Collars) (England) Regulations 2023
- Considered in Grand Committee
- 4:43 pm
- Moved by
- That the Grand Committee do consider the Animal Welfare (Electronic Collars) (England) Regulations 2023.Relevant document: 38th Report from the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee
- My Lords, these draft regulations were laid before the House on 27 April. The purpose of the instrument is to promote the welfare of cats and dogs by prohibiting the use of electronic collars capable of emitting an electric current when activated by a handheld device. As noble Lords will be aware, animal welfare is a devolved issue. Therefore, these regulations apply to England only.These collars are sometimes described as electric shock collars or e-collars. The instrument will make it an offence for a person to attach, or cause the attachment of, an e-collar to a cat or a dog. It will also make it an offence for a person responsible for a cat or dog that is wearing an e-collar to be in possession of a remote control device designed or adapted for activating the collar. This proportionate and targeted ban will not prevent the continued use of other electronic collars which are not associated with such harm and abuse. These include those that emit a vibration or a spray, as well as invisible fencing or containment systems.This instrument fulfils a commitment given by the Government in response to their 2018 consultation on electronic training collars for cats and dogs in England. This commitment was reiterated in Defra’s 2021 action plan for animal welfare. Concerns about the capacity for e-collars to cause harm to cats and dogs have consistently been raised with the Government. In response, Defra commissioned research to understand the effect of these devices on the welfare of domestic dogs. The research showed that many owners do not read the manufacturer’s instructions prior to use. It also showed that e-collars have a negative impact on the welfare of some dogs, even when used in compliance with the manufacturer’s instructions. E-collars may also redirect aggression or generate anxiety-based behaviour, worsening underlying problems.In developing these regulations, we have listened carefully to a range of views from pet owners and respondents and have consulted key organisations, including animal welfare and dog owning organisations, veterinary organisations, e-collar manufacturers, dog trainers and behaviourists. We engaged with both those who support the use of e-collars and those who do not.I am aware of concerns raised by some colleagues regarding the implications of these regulations on livestock worrying. I assure noble Lords that very careful consideration was given to this matter. My officials liaised closely with the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead on livestock worrying, and with several English police forces, as well as police from Wales. They noted that the vast majority of livestock worrying cases involve dogs that have escaped from the premises on which they are kept without their owners knowing. These are cases that hand-controlled e-collars could not have prevented. We therefore maintain that owners keeping dogs in secure premises and ensuring that they are kept on leads when walked in close proximity to livestock is the most effective line of defence against dog attacks of this nature.
- My Lords, I thank the Minister for his introduction. I acknowledge his confident sign- posting of where the regulation takes us. It is clearly a very welcome regulation; there are millions of cat and dog owners who are hugely fond of their pets and will, no doubt, greet the mention of electronic collars with quite some repugnance. The Minister can be congratulated on his regulation, which will surely be wholeheartedly greeted with no little relief by many pet owners.The regulations are securely rooted in the Animal Welfare Act 2006—perhaps a landmark Act of its kind. We should thank the department for them. As a dog lover, and a dog owner at one time, I recollect our late dog: a black lab, named Sweep. He was a failed gun- dog and, for sure, he had neither courage nor aggression. When we were burgled, I rather think he was the welcoming group for that misdemeanour.I have only a few brief questions. Mainly as a point of principle and for the record, will the Minister expand a little on paragraphs 4.1 and 4.2 of the Explanatory Memorandum? How did he or his department consult the Senedd? It is a trifle delphic. It is not sophistry, of course, but perhaps he might expand on those paragraphs a little.Further, paragraph 7.13 refers to His Majesty’s Armed Forces. How will this operate? In what circumstances does the Minister envisage paragraph 7.13 operating? One might presume that an MoD dog with an electronic collar would be very obedient and might even, if it is doing its work, in some circumstances cease to worry a trespasser. One does not know, so perhaps the Minister could indicate how that might work.Paragraph 10.4 of the Explanatory Memorandum is about consultation. Can the Minister give a brief summary—a précis—of those involved? Maybe they are well-known national organisations, and it may come easily to his memory whom he or his department consulted. Again, I congratulate him on the regulations and a helpful Explanatory Memorandum.
- I thank my noble friend the Minister for laying out these regulations and the work that has gone into drawing them up. I declare my interest as a vice-president of the National Sheep Association. Of course, worrying by dogs is a major concern for the industry. I have had sheep worried by family pets, and it is very sad for all concerned because, at the moment, the only cure for a dog that is worrying sheep is to have it put down. If a dear family pet fails in this way, often people send it away somewhere else, which does not really solve the situation.Recently, the secretary of the NSA issued a statement that some farmers in Wales are finding that they can train a dog not to worry sheep by using electronic collars. It is not a question of monitoring the collar but of training the dog. This could prevent the putting down of healthy dogs. Has this been considered? The collars are limited to shocks of about 5,000 volts, whereas electric fences and so on can be about 35,000 volts, which animals quickly come to recognise. This is an area where the limits covered by this measure might have to be reconsidered.
- My Lords, I declare my interest as a landowner and farmer. We have a flock of sheep and, of course, I keep dogs. These days, it seems that every public document states that it is evidence-based, but too often the scientific research and the evidence involved are pre-organised to produce a political result—and so it is with this legislation, prepared by Defra.Wales, a country with a great deal of sheep farming, banned electronic dog collars a few years ago. A year after the ban, Welsh farmers reported four times more dog attacks on sheep and that they had needed to shoot three times as many dogs. At home, in 2020, our flock lost five sheep to dog attacks and two in 2021. One was saved but was never the same again, and perhaps we should have euthanised the poor thing when we found it. Last year, we lost 23 sheep. I am not saying that this legislation would have saved all those dogs, because clearly there is an issue with responsible dog ownership. Most responsible dog owners keep their dogs on leads. However, we are about to pass this legislation. Defra understood that 500,000 electronic dog collars were in operation in this country. The RSPCA’s 2021 figures for cruelty to animals reported 1,094 killings of animals and 38,087 abandonments. How many e-collar incidents of cruelty were reported? Zero.I have had 15 dogs. I have had five generations of working spaniels. In answer to the emotive speech by the noble Lord, Lord Jones, about dog owners loving their dogs, of course I love my dogs. The fifth generation of my working spaniels is a batshit crazy spaniel. I am sure that noble Lords with spaniels will agree with this. I try to love him. Well, I do love him. For Christmas, he got an e-collar. The first thing that I did was use the “vibrate” button on him, but in worst-case scenarios I use the “shock” button. I am lucky that the Government are allowing me a transition period to February 2024; I am certain he will be a brilliant dog by then. He wants to do a good job but he is a lively animal.
- 5:00 pm
- I turn to the policy background on this. The Explanatory Memorandum says at paragraph 7.2:
- “The Government’s decision was based on the concern”—
- I suggest that concern is supposition—
- “that electric shock collars can be all too easily”—
- “can” is again supposition; it is not evidence based—
- “be open to abuse and can be harmful for animal welfare, and as there was a lack of evidence of the capacity for electronic shock collars to correct unwanted behaviour without also impacting the animal’s welfare”.
- I suggest that there is no scientific evidence because research has not been carried out. This is well-meaning legislation but it is ill thought through and will lead to more animals, specifically sheep, being killed and more dogs being put down prematurely.
- I support the remarks of my noble friends who spoke about the use of collars in livestock, but I will ask my noble friend the Minister a brief question. Why has the department provided an exemption for the use of e-collars by the Armed Forces? What was the basis for that? It would be helpful and interesting to have sight of the internal animal welfare standards and permissions of the Armed Forces if they are available.
- My Lords, I thank the Minister for his introduction to the SI. He will be pleased to know that I am happy with it and have only a couple of points to make.In contrast to the previous SI, this one seeks to protect animals from harm and amends the Animal Welfare Act 2006. Once implemented, it will ban the use of handheld devices and prohibit the use of electric shock collars. Anyone found guilty of using a handheld device will be subject to unlimited fines. This is quite clearly a good thing.Defra conducted a public consultation in 2018. Most respondents supported a ban on all types of electronic training collar but some were in favour of retaining the ability to use them provided they did not deliver an electric shock. Animals quickly learn from these devices and they are useful in keeping animals safe near busy roads by keeping them contained in a restricted area. There is also an opportunity for their use in preventing dogs escaping and chasing livestock, as we have heard. Sheep worrying is a very serious matter—
- Might I suggest that the seven-week public consultation in 2018 received 6,700 responses, of which 64% opposed making it an offence to attach an e-collar to a cat or a dog and 63% opposed making it an offence to be responsible for a cat or a dog who had an e-collar?