Written question asked by David Drew (Labour) on Tuesday, 25 October 2005, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 27 October 2005. It was answered by Ben Bradshaw (Labour) on Tuesday, 1 November 2005 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Dog Trainers

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs who has won the bid to conduct research into electric aids used for dog training; and whether the research will be conducted independently of the manufacturers of such devices.

Answer: An open competition call inviting bids for research into specific types of electronic training aids was published in DEFRA's annual Research Requirements Document on 1 August 2005.The closing date for receipt of proposals was 30 September 2005. A single proposal was received in response to the call and this is currently undergoing both external and internal peer review. It is hoped that a decision will be made by the end of December on whether or not DEFRA will proceed with the commissioning of this proposal, in line with the timetable outlined in the Research Requirements Document.It is important that the research is independent, robust and rigorous. Peer review at both the outset and during the life of the project will help ensure this process.

Secondary information