The Northern Ireland agriculture minister Andrew Muir has once again confirmed his commitment to bow to lobbying pressure from Dogs Trust in relation to electronic training collars.
The minister, along with members of an all party group, received a presentation by Dogs Trust this December, urging him to ‘Ban the SHOCK’.
The proposal reflects previous efforts by the charity earlier in the year, which were met with strong opposition from experienced stakeholders, including the National Sheep Association, who recognise that electronic collars are a unique tool in training dogs not to want to chase or kill sheep. They warned Muir against blindly following the Dogs Trust lead and walking directly into the same horrendous increase in savaged sheep and shot dogs that Wales has suffered since trusting the Dogs Trust and banning electronic training collars in 2010 (see below).
ARDO knows that there is an extensive body of scientific evidence to confirm that the safe and appropriate use of the collars, rapidly instills a long lasting avoidance in dogs towards sheep or other vulnerable animals that they would otherwise seek out and kill. Dogs Trust have never denied this fact. Neither has the £130 million charity ever provided a single real life example of electronic collars being used to cause unnecessary harm or suffering to a dog. The British Veterinary Association and the Kennel Club also admit to having no actual evidence of any kind of misuse either. In over 20 years, the RSPCA have never felt the need to prosecute anyone for cruelty caused with an electronic collar.
When we consider that a quality electronic collar costs upwards of £250, we have to ask why someone who simply wished to be cruel to a dog would part with so much money in order to do so? We need to also ask, if there has never been any evidence of cruelty or harm caused, where on Earth is the urgent need for a blanket ban and why is Dogs Trust so committed to wasting public donations in their political pursuit of a ban?
Earlier this year, Westminster abandoned plans to ban the collars. DEFRA’s public consultation revealed that two thirds of respondents did not feel a ban was necessary.
English MP’s received thousands of letters of opposition and meetings with constituents, together with warning snarls from farming and countryside groups in national press. ARDO supporters remained heavily committed to protecting our right to protect our dogs and other animals, holding significant protest gatherings at Westminster and the 2023 Conservative Party conference, culminating in the proposed ban being dropped.
ARDO are writing directly to Andrew Muir and requesting a meeting.
We remain absolutely resolute in opposing the wholly unnecessary, unsubstantiated sensationalism and scaremongering by charity lobbying, which, as the petri dish of Wales has shown, presents a genuine, avoidable risk to the safety and lives of our dogs and other animals. Not to mention the livelihoods of Northern Ireland’s farmers, with the NFU reporting that sheep attacks by dogs more than doubled last year compared to the previous year
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June 2024
Stormont minister’s plan to ban training dogs with e-collars slammed by rural community
There has been fierce criticism of agriculture minister Andrew Muir over his support for a ban on the training of dogs with e-collars.
Agriculture committee member Tom Buchanan said that it would pose a fatal risk to sheep and dogs.
The minister told the Assembly this week that he was “keen” to ban e-collars and cited a plan by the Republic’s agriculture minister, Charlie McConalogue, to do the same.
In response, Mr Buchanan, a DUP member from West Tyrone, said: “Andrew Muir should look long and hard at the scientific evidence because he risks making life even tougher for Northern Ireland’s sheep farmers. Across the water in Wales a ban on e-collar training has led to a huge increase in not just savaged sheep but shot dogs. That double tragedy should be avoided at all costs.”
He has been joined in the criticism by Edward Adamson of the National Sheep Association in Northern Ireland, who said “I consider these collars to be an effective training device to stop dogs chasing sheep. If Minister Muir had ever seen the devastation and damage that is often done to sheep in a dog attack, he might better understand the reason for effective training. If they were banned it would cause fury around the countryside.”
Earlier this year, NFU Mutual blamed what they called “complacency among some dog owners” alongside an “inability to control their pets” for a doubling of dog attacks on livestock in Northern Ireland in 2023, compared to 2022 and 2021. The insurers say farm animals worth an estimated £147,000 were severely injured or killed in Northern Ireland in 2023.
A move to ban e-collars in England last year failed after a campaign by dog owners and a letter from 441 sheep farmers to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. They pointed out that in Wales, where e-collars are banned, there has been a massive increase in dog attacks on livestock.
Jamie Penrith of the Association of Responsible Dog Owners said “politicians who want cheap publicity think that they can win votes by banning e-collars. They should read the science before they pontificate.”