Blue Cross welcomes Scottish move on shock collar ban and asks: When will England follow suit?

Blue Cross is pleased to see the Scottish Government has listened to concerns over animal welfare and has now taken the decision to ban the use of “cruel and unnecessary” electric shock collars.

This move leaves England lagging behind as the only country in Great Britain not to ban such abhorrent devices. Our charity will now be calling on Westminster to follow suit immediately.

The Scottish Government had planned to “regulate” rather than ban electric shock collars but, following pressure from animal welfare organisations and supportive MSPs, it has now u-turned on its original policy.

Becky Thwaites, Head of Public Affairs at Blue Cross, said: “It’s great to see the Scottish Government has finally listened to animal welfare advice and has moved to ban electric shock collars.

“Electric shock collars are a serious animal welfare issue. They are outdated, cruel and have no place in modern dog training.

“Blue Cross strongly believes that the only effective way to train a dog is through positive reinforcement. We believe all adverse training methods compromise welfare and are therefore in contravention of the Animal Welfare Act.

“We will be pressing Westminster to follow suit as soon as possible with a similar ban to stop dogs from suffering from the use of these devices.”