With reference to Section 30 of the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill, what are the animal welfare merits of permitting dogs which have attacked livestock to be destroyed but not trained with e-collars?
Animals should be protected from pain, injury and distress. This is why the use of any collar that is capable of administering an electric shock to a dog or cat is banned in Wales.
Clause 30 of the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill provides that when a person is convicted of an offence under clause 25 and the Court is satisfied that the relevant dog poses a risk of attacking or worrying livestock again, the Court may order the relevant dog to be destroyed (“a destruction order”). When making a destruction order, the Court must set out its reasons for doing so which must be entered into the register of its proceedings. It is not possible to know how many destruction orders for dogs which attack livestock may be issued in Wales should the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill come into effect. As currently drafted, this is just one of a range of ancillary orders the Courts may make to provide effective tools to address reoffending in the most serious cases of livestock worrying.