Why did the Welsh Government’s 2015 review of the ban on e-collars not include an assessment of the potential impact on the numbers of livestock killed by dogs?
The scope of the 2015 review was to provide the Welsh Government with an impartial literature review and an analysis of the science available on the use of electronic collars that provide a static impulse or shock. The review considered the potential benefits and efficacy of electric collars against animal welfare concerns in order to reach conclusions about whether the benefits outweighed the animal welfare costs.
We are working with the UK Government on introducing further safeguards through the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill. The Bill proposes to repeal and replace the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act 1953 with a new set of provisions to address the issue of dogs attacking or worrying livestock. It aims to broaden the definition of livestock which are afforded protection and the areas in which the powers apply. As currently drafted, it also incorporates a range of ancillary orders that the Courts may make to provide effective tools to address reoffending in the most serious cases of livestock worrying.