Kerry TD Michael Healy-Rae has voiced his opposition to the possibility of a ban on the use of electric shock collars for dogs, saying he believes the implications of such a move have not been thought through.
Deputy Healy-Rae was responding to the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine’s opening of a public consultation on the matter, which invites interested parties to make submissions up until next week.
Banning the use of electric collars for dogs and cats in Ireland is currently under consideration by the Advisory Council for Companion Animal Welfare, which was set up in 2021 to advise the Minister on such matters.
The Rural Independent politician said he was “totally opposed” to the idea of banning the collars, which are used to train dogs to stay away from livestock.
However, the proposal has won the backing of Fine Gael Senator Regina Doherty. Senator Doherty said this week that electric shock collars are a “harmful and cruel” method of attempting to train dogs, and must be banned.
“The question of whether the use of electronic shock collars ought to be banned in Ireland is currently under consideration by the Advisory Council for Companion Animal Welfare. I’m pleased that the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has opened up a public consultation on this matter and invited interested parties to make submissions,” the Deputy leader of Seanad Éireann said.
She described the use of electric shock collars as “barbaric,” stating: “Some people use electronic shock collars as a training device, the idea being that a dog comes to associate a certain behaviour with the pain caused by the collar. In other words, they administer an electric shock to a dog if it misbehaves. It’s an incredibly cruel method of training.”
“As a nation, we are animal lovers. We love our dogs but a small number of people continue to rely on barbaric methods and practices.
“It’s high time for electronic shock collars to be banned in Ireland,” the Senator said.
The proposal would mean an outright ban being placed on electric dog collars for domestic owners, and could lead further to other livestock solutions being impacted..
However, Deputy Healy-Rae said it was a “totally wrong” and “a backward step,” stating: “This modern technology which means an area can be fenced to control a dog is most welcome.”
“I would compare it to the electric fencers that have been used for many years on our farms which is an essential tool for our livestock control. If these collars are banned for dogs, then what is the difference between electric methods being used to control a dog or being used to control livestock?”
Healy-Rae continued: “If you were to take a large bull on a farm trying to control that bull without the benefit of an electric fence it would be impossible and dangerous beyond belief.”
The Kerry South politician said he would be submitting his own submission. He called on others to actively voice their own opinions on the matter and to engage in the submission process.
“There are a lot more pressing issues that the Department could be engaging with for the farming and rural community at the moment, especially with the financial squeeze being put on farm families,” he added.
Senator Rónán Mullen has also weighed into the debate, as he accused the government of “trying to hide” the proposed ban on electric collars. He also said this week that Ireland has a “huge problem” of dogs attacking sheep, while stressing that electric collars were the “only proven” training method of stopping such attacks.
‘FIG-LEAF CONSULTATION’
The NUIG Senator said that the three-week long consultation on the possible ban was placed at the bottom of the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine (DAFM) website, adding that the notice about the consultation lacked a heading on the website. He also said it did not have a briefing note for members of the public or stakeholders.
“It is a long-standing tradition of governments to hide unpopular announcements in the hope that nobody will notice,” Senator Mullen said.
“But it is completely unacceptable for the government to stage a fig-leaf of a consultation and to bury the announcement of it on its website – beneath a series of guidance notes on dog ear-cropping.
“The department has given no indication of why it’s putting the question of a ban on the agenda, nor has it given any guidance on what information is being requested.”
“The reason for the subterfuge seems to be that attempts for a similar ban in England recently failed because of a backlash from farmers and dog owners,” he added.
Senator Mullen also expressed concern that farmers would be faced with “gruesome” consequences when their sheep had been killed.
“E-collar training is used by thousands of dog owners to make their dogs wary of approaching sheep when they escape,” Senator Mullen said.
“There is an impressive amount of science demonstrating the effectiveness of e-collar training.
“The alternative of training dogs through rewarding them with biscuits, so called ‘positive only’ training, is not proven to be effective at stopping predatory attacks on livestock. It is scientifically illiterate to suggest otherwise,” he continued.
He said that other proposals, such as increasing criminal sanctions to try and ensure owners kept their dogs on leads, were not sufficient to solve the problem.
E-COLLAR TRAINING NOT CRUEL, SENATOR CLAIMS
“That is because owners know that their pets need off-lead exercise. And dogs don’t pay fines. They smell a sheep long before their owner notices and they can run much faster,” he said.
He also challenged claims made by Senator Doherty – who said that electric shock collars were designed to give electronic shocks to dogs “by way of metal conductors which contact the neck, with up to 6,000 volts emitted for up to 11 seconds at a time.”
He said there was “a lot of evidence” to show that e-collar training is not cruel, stating:
“And so I am surprised that my Seanad colleague, Regina Doherty claims that the dog e-collars ‘are incredibly cruel’ because they ‘create 6,000 volts’.
“Yet 200,000 volts is safely used in classroom experiments in which children’s hair is raised,” he added.
“Extremely high voltages can be safe when the current is low. This is why the impact of electric devices used to safeguard animals is measured in joules of electricity – which is the combination of voltage and current.
“The product standard for dog e-collars limits them to delivering a pulse of 5 mJ – that is 3,000 times lower than the 15,000 mJ produced by some livestock fences which any animal can accidentally touch,” the Senator said.
He has pledged to raise the matter in the Seanad next week – and has called for an extension on the consultation deadline. Otherwise, he claimed, it will look as though the government “is trying to hide the consultation because it is only interested in hearing from certain vested interests before reaching a conclusion.”
“There may be a temptation for the minister to take the ‘cuddly’ stance of wanting to ban a device which some campaigners portray as cruel.
“But the government needs to take an evidence-based approach to the issues of whether these e-collars are effective and whether their use compromises the safety and welfare of animals.
“The government can’t do its job properly here unless it consults widely with scientists, sheep farmers and their representatives, dog owners, vets and others with an evidence-based point of view.”
The consultation can be found at the bottom of this page, and states:
“The use of remotely controlled electronic shock collars in dogs and cats has been banned in several European countries on the grounds of animal welfare. The question of whether the use of these devices on dogs and cats ought to be banned in Ireland is under consideration by the Advisory Council for Companion Animal Welfare, which advises the Minister on such matters.”
Stakeholders are invited to make a submission to the consultation by email to animalwelfare@agriculture.gov.ie before Friday 26th January 2024.