Blue Cross disappointed at Scottish government animal welfare backtrack and shock collar decision

Blue Cross is extremely disappointed at the Scottish government’s new animal welfare legislation, which backtracks on tail docking and does not go far enough on cruel collars.

Scotland currently outlaws the practice of removing part or all of a dog’s tail across all canines bred for all purposes. The Scottish Environment Secretary, Roseanna Cunningham, has announced the government intends to bring its legislation more in line with English law, where the tails of working dogs can be docked legally.

Scotland will soon allow the tails of spaniels and hunt point retriever puppies to be docked if a vet believes they are likely to be working dogs and risk serious tail injury in later life.

Blue Cross believes that no part of an animal should be removed unless absolutely necessary. Puppies can suffer unnecessary pain from having their tails docked, and removing the tail also leaves them without the ability to express themselves and fully communicate.

Becky Thwaites, Head of Public Affairs at Blue Cross said: “We are hugely disappointed at the Scottish government’s decision to backtrack on animal welfare. We know that dogs use their tails to communicate and that tail docking can cause pain. Opinion polls also tell us that the public has no desire to reintroduce tail docking in Scotland.”

Following a consultation on the use of aversive training devices earlier this year, the Scottish government has pledged to ban the sale and use of electric pulse, sonic and spray collars in Scotland, unless they are used under the guidance of an approved trainer or vet.

Becky added: “While we welcome the steps taken to limit pain caused to pets, it is very unclear what qualifications and animal behaviour knowledge the approved trainers and vets permitted to use these devices will be required to have. There is no evidence that shock devices give better results than using positive methods for training, and we do know that causing pain to a dog has a detrimental effect on the relationship between owner and pet and can cause unintended problems. There is no place for cruel training devices in 2016, and we would much rather see an outright ban on them.”

Electric shock collars have been banned in Wales for more than five years and Blue Cross would like to see them outlawed across the UK.