Hundreds of thousands of dog owners who force their pets to wear electric collars were warned yesterday that the devices were “cruel and outdated”.
Phillip Pook, 48, from Ogmore-by-Sea in the Vale of Glamorgan, was fined
£2,000 and ordered to pay £1,000 costs for using a battery-operated collar
to train his pet border collie.
The collars, which were banned in Wales last year but are still legal in other
parts of Britain, give the animal an electric shock when it strays beyond
designated boundaries. About 500,000 British dog owners use the device.
The Kennel Club welcomed the prosecution. A spokesman said: “Electric shock
collars train dogs through pain and fear.
“They are a cruel, outdated and unsuitable method of training dogs.”
A spokesman for the RSPCA said Mr Pook had been “very bloody minded”. He said:
“This has got to be the most expensive dog collar ever – he’s paid £3,000
for it. He was using the collar because he was too lazy to put up a fence.
“Electric collars have now been outlawed in Wales and there’s no excuse for
using them. I am under no doubt this would have caused the dog pain.”
Magistrates at Bridgend were told that the collar gave an electric shock to Mr Pook’s dog, Dougie, when it went near a specific fence to escape from his home.
A young couple found Mr Pook’s collie, wearing the illegal collar, roaming a beach near his home in Ogmore-by-Sea.
They handed the collie over to the Dogs Trust charity, who traced the owner through a microchip.
David Prosser, prosecuting, said: “This is the first prosecution under the regulations for this type of collar. It operates like an electric fence, and if the dog approaches the boundaries or tries to escape it sends a shock. He didn’t accept that it was illegal because it’s legal in England. But this is the law as far as Wales is concerned.”
Magistrates were told the dog ignored the shocks and kept on escaping. It was known at a local kennels as “the dog with the shock collar”.
Mr Pook admitted the offence but claimed he didn’t know the collars had been made illegal. Electric shock collars, which are used to train unruly cats and dogs, were banned by the Welsh Assembly last March. The collars are still legal in England and Scotland. However, their legality is due to be debated in Parliament at Westminster and in Scotland.
The Electronic Collars Manufacturers Association has denied that use of such collars is painful to dogs.
On its website, the organisation says: “Mild static stimulation that your dog feels [is] designed to be undesirable so your dog will avoid it, yet is totally harmless and humane.”
The association said dogs learned in “small stages”, and therefore it takes an average 10 minutes twice a day for two weeks for a dog to be trained wearing an electronic collar.
The Welsh regulation prohibits the use of any electronic collar designed to give a dog or cat an electric shock. Owners caught using the device face a fine of up to £20,000 or six months in prison.
Article by James Hall for The Telegraph.
Magistrates at Bridgend were told that the collar gave an electric shock to Mr Pook’s dog, Dougie, when it went near a specific fence to escape from his home.
A young couple found Mr Pook’s collie, wearing the illegal collar, roaming a beach near his home in Ogmore-by-Sea.
They handed the collie over to the Dogs Trust charity, who traced the owner through a microchip.
David Prosser, prosecuting, said: “This is the first prosecution under the regulations for this type of collar. It operates like an electric fence, and if the dog approaches the boundaries or tries to escape it sends a shock. He didn’t accept that it was illegal because it’s legal in England. But this is the law as far as Wales is concerned.”
Magistrates were told the dog ignored the shocks and kept on escaping. It was known at a local kennels as “the dog with the shock collar”.
Mr Pook admitted the offence but claimed he didn’t know the collars had been made illegal. Electric shock collars, which are used to train unruly cats and dogs, were banned by the Welsh Assembly last March. The collars are still legal in England and Scotland. However, their legality is due to be debated in Parliament at Westminster and in Scotland.
The Electronic Collars Manufacturers Association has denied that use of such collars is painful to dogs.
On its website, the organisation says: “Mild static stimulation that your dog feels [is] designed to be undesirable so your dog will avoid it, yet is totally harmless and humane.”
The association said dogs learned in “small stages”, and therefore it takes an average 10 minutes twice a day for two weeks for a dog to be trained wearing an electronic collar.
The Welsh regulation prohibits the use of any electronic collar designed to give a dog or cat an electric shock. Owners caught using the device face a fine of up to £20,000 or six months in prison.
Article by James Hall for The Telegraph.
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