Sheep farmers warn government over electric dog collar ban
More than 200 sheep farmers from across England have warned the government over its plan to ban electric dog collars.
The government first promised to ban the collars in 2018 and has pledged to introduce new legislation later this year.
In a letter to Boris and Carrie Johnson, who both campaigned in favour of the ban, the farmers say that they are experiencing an increasing number of “distressing and harrowing” dog attacks and the ban on the training devices due to come into effect this year is “utterly irresponsible”.
The letter, led by the National Sheep Association, warns that in Wales – where a ban is already in place – there has been an increase in attacks on sheep and the number of dogs shot by farmers.
The letter added: “While we agree with Defra that using leads on dogs around sheep is important, the vast majority of attacks happen when a dog has escaped. So, it would be utterly irresponsible to ban the only training which prevents such attacks, and can avoid dogs being shot or destroyed.”
Phil Stocker, the chief executive of the National Sheep Association, told The Telegraph: “Attacks on sheep by dogs are getting progressively worse and farmers are fed up with the trauma of finding dead and injured sheep and in some cases telling people that they have had to shoot their dogs.
“The solution starts with owners keeping their dogs on leads. But dogs with strong prey instincts must also be trained and, as the signatories of this letter say, it would be madness to ban an effective and proven way of training them to be wary of sheep.
“We are in favour of regulation to minimise any risk of misuse – but a blanket ban on e-collar training would be misguided in the extreme.”
However, The Telegraph is reporting that government officials insist that the ban was being put in place to protect dogs from abuse. The newspaper understands that ministers are planning to respond to the farmers.
A Defra spokesman told the newspaper: “The government’s proposed ban on hand-operated electric shock collars will protect dogs from these harmful devices which can be all too easily open to abuse.
“It is important that dogs are trained to behave well, ideally from a young age, and introduced gradually and positively to different environments, people and animals. Dog owners can prevent incidents of livestock worrying through keeping their pet dogs on a lead in the vicinity of livestock.”
