Public don't think using electric collars should be an offence

Nearly 700 people respond to DEFA consultation

Using an electric collar on a dog or cat should not be an offence on the Island.

That's the conclusion of a public consultation.

The Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture was asking whether the use of these collars would cause 'unnecessary harm and suffering' to the animals.

It wanted to know if the public thought we should follow in the footsteps of England and Wales.

Any ban or regulation would mean introducing secondary legislation to the Animal Welfare Act that came into effect on the 1st of the month.

Nearly 700 unique responses were received to the consultation, which asked whether six scenarios should be offences.

The large majority of people believed attaching e-collars that either emit distracting puffs of air or non-aversive behaviour changing pheromones/chemicals or deliver a noise or vibration should not be an offence.

Almost 80 percent of respondents didn't think attaching an electric collar to a dog or cat should be illegal.

The only point that seemed to divide people was whether it should be an offence to use e-collars that emit a harmful or poisonous gas.

Nearly 47 percent of respondents said that should be an offence, but a small majority of 53 percent disagreed.

DEFA says it's aware that there are significant concerns about the use of electronic collars on dogs and cats and will do more work to explore this area further.

You can see the results of the consultation in full here.