Norman Baker MP Member of Parliament for Lewes constituency
|Home
Contact Norman at:
Norman Baker,
23 East Street,
Lewes,
East Sussex,
BN7 2LJ.
Tel: (01273) 480281.
Fax: (01273) 480287.
Email: info
This website has been partly paid for from the funds made available to every MP to assist them in communicating with and representing their constituents.
Printed and hosted by Pipex Communications UK Ltd, Humber Buildings, Humber Rd, Beeston, Notts, NG9 2ET. Published and promoted by Norman Baker MP, House of Commons, Westminster, London SW1A 1AA. The views expressed are those of Norman Baker, not of the service provider.
Local MP backs bill banning electric shock collars
Local Lib Dem MP, Norman Baker, today in the House of Commons added his backing to the Electric Shock Training Devices Bill which seeks to ban the sale and use of collars designed to train pets by giving them an electric shock when they behave incorrectly.
The Bill, introduced by Sarah McCarthy-Fry, seeks to remedy the Government’s failure to include provision for the prohibition of such devices in the Animal Welfare Act, which was passed last year. The Government claims that the available evidence is insufficient to justify the restriction of electric shock collars despite recent studies which have shown that the use of punishment techniques in the training of dogs is associated with an increase in the incidence of problem behaviours and, specifically, that pain caused by an electric shock is a stimulus for aggression.
In a recent MORI poll in 2006, the majority (68%) of respondents disagreed with the use of shock collars to train dogs. The Association of Chief Police Officers and the Armed Forces dog unit have both banned the use of electric shock collars in training their dogs. Austria and parts of Australia have also prohibited the use of such devices.
The Bill was today defeated at Second Reading.
Commenting on the Bill, Norman Baker said:
"I was very pleased to able to speak in the House today on this matter and lend my support to this worthy Bill which attempts to compensate for a real gap in existing animal welfare legislation.
"Any devices which train or control animals by causing pain, stress or fear have no place in modern dog training, particularly when there more humane alternatives available, such as citronella spray collars, for those cases in which much more desirable reward training methods have not worked.
"What is more, the fact that shock collars are freely available, sold with minimal instruction and therefore open to misuse, through either ignorance or malice, is extremely worrying. This is of particular concern in light of the numerous recent dog attacks reported in the media and the link that recent studies have demonstrated between electric shocks and higher incidences of aggression. This is why I am pleased to have been able to be in the House today to support this Bill."