"Barbaric" painful dog collars could be banned

Thursday 26 May 2016

Hundreds of Islanders pushed for a ban on them earlier this year and now the Environment Minister wants to make it illegal to put electric shock collars on dogs.

If States Members agree to changes to the Animal Welfare Law it will also be illegal to dock dogs' tails, give animals out as prizes or for children under 16 to buy them.

Environment Minister Steve Luce said: “Current evidence suggests that dog training which involves punishment, also known as aversive training, doesn’t work well and can end up doing long term harm to the animal. You get much better results using reward-based training which doesn’t affect the welfare of the animal.” 

Earlier this year hundreds of dog lovers signed an online petition calling for a ban on pinch or prong collars which they called 'barbaric' and 'cruel'.

Jo-Ann de la Mare set up the petition back in January after spotting a dog wearing a collar designed to hurt it when it pulls at the lead in town - she took a picture which quickly took off on Facebook.

The changes to the law will also mean you're responsible for your family pets and can't blame your kids if your animal is being neglected or mistreated.

Deputy Luce is also pushing for a number of changes designed to protect animals both at home and in boarding kennels and to introduce regulations around the filming of animals fighting.