Dumfriesshire MSP Oliver Mundell met with the Dogs Trust in the Scottish Parliament to discuss their dog manifesto and animal welfare issues.
The Scottish Government has recently consulted on the sale and use of electronic training aids. Dogs Trust is deeply concerned by their use, a notion the Scottish public support, with 77% of those polled by YouGov supporting a ban.
Oliver Mundell MSP said: “I am proud to support Dogs Trust in raising awareness of the welfare issues that electronic shock collars and other aversive training devices can cause to dogs. Such devices use pain or fear to train dogs and like Dogs Trust I believe this hugely affects the well-being of man’s best friends.
“The charity’s rehoming centres in Scotland only use reward-based training and I want to see these methods guaranteed for all dogs to ensure their welfare, so I am calling on the Scottish Government to take action to prevent the sale and use of these terrible devices.”
Dogs Trust Head of Public Affairs, Claire Calder explains: “We were delighted to visit the Scottish Parliament last week, and meet with Oliver to discuss our 2016 Dog Manifesto. At the top of our agenda is the currently unregulated use of electronic training devices.
“We are calling on MSPs to back our calls for a full ban on the sale and use of static pulse, spray and sonic collars. We are working to ensure the welfare of all dogs and are grateful for the support we have received from across the political spectrum for these issues.”
It is expected that the Scottish Government will respond to their consultation on the ‘potential controls or prohibition of electronic training aids in Scotland’ shortly.
The Dogs Trust Public Affairs team also engaged with MSPs on the breeding and sale of dogs and their work as part of the Pet Advertising Advisory Group (PAAG) which focusses on the online advertising for sale of pets.
To read Dogs Trust’s Scottish Manifesto visit: https://www.dogstrust.org.uk/news-events/news/dogs-trust-public-affairs-news
