Written question asked by Huw Irranca-Davies (Labour) on Thursday, 22 March 2012, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 26 March 2012. It was answered by James Paice (Conservative) on Tuesday, 27 March 2012 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Dogs: Electronic Training Aids

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what rationale her Department used when permitting the participation of the Electronic Collar Manufacturers' Association in its commissioned research on the use of electronic shock devices on dogs; and what steps her Department has taken to ensure that any involvement of the Association in this research is independent and impartial.

Answer: DEFRA officials had sight of the memorandum of understanding between Electronic Collar Manufacturers' Association and the research group and did not consider it posed a risk to the independence of the research.We are peer reviewing the outputs of this DEFRA-funded research using independent academic experts. As with all DEFRA-funded projects, we have encouraged publication of the results in scientific journals, which will involve further peer review for each element of the project that is published.

Secondary information