Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the potential merits of banning the use of electric shock collars on animals.

Following a 2018 consultation, the Government committed to banning the use of hand-controlled electric shock collars (e-collars) on cats and dogs, given their scope to cause harm to these animals. This was reiterated in Defra’s 2021 Action Plan for Animal Welfare. The draft regulations were developed after considering a broad range of factors. Academic research, public consultation responses, and direct engagement with the sector, with training organisations and with other stakeholders led the Government to conclude that the use of these electric shock collars should be prohibited.

Regarding other animals, the independent Animal Welfare Committee examined the welfare implications of using virtual fencing systems on livestock, where livestock are fitted with electronic collars as part of a system for containing, monitoring and moving livestock. The Committee’s report was published in October 2022.