Written question asked by Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer (Liberal Democrat), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord Rooker (Labour) on Wednesday, 8 November 2006.

Animal Welfare: Electric Shock Collars

Question: Whether, in view of the number of studies that have already been undertaken, they have made an assessment of the extent to which the further testing of electric shock collars on dogs is ethical.

Answer: I refer the noble Baroness to the response I gave during the debate on the Animal Welfare Bill on 23 May 2006, Official Report col. GC189. In it, I explained that my department was considering advertising a revised call for research in the light of concerns raised about the unsuccessful open competition in 2005. We subsequently circulated a limited tender callin July, which encouraged proposals for an epidemiological study to assess the effect of specific electronic pet training collars on the welfare of dogs; in other words, a study based on observation of collars already in use. We will take account of ethical considerations when assessing the proposals we have received in response.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 8061; 686 c161WA
Session: 2005-06
Related items: Animal Welfare Bill
Tuesday, 23 May 2006
Proceeding contributions
House of Lords
Subjects: Animal welfare Dogs Training Research Electronic training aids
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk