The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue has announced a three-week extension to the public consultation on the question of whether the use of electronic shock collars operated by hand-held remote controls on dogs and cats should be banned in Ireland.
The use of these collars in dogs and cats has been banned in several European countries on the grounds of animal welfare.
The question of whether their use on dogs and cats in Ireland ought to be banned is under consideration by the Advisory Council for Companion Animal Welfare, which advises the minister.
This consultation relates only to the use on dogs and cats of electronic shock collars which are operated by a hand-held remote control.
It does not relate to the use of collars which are part of a fencing/containment system to prevent straying or to anti-bark collars.
Submissions may be submitted by email to [email protected]. The deadline for submissions has been extended by three weeks from the original date of January 26 to February 16, 2024.
Consultation on use of e-collars
The announcement of the extension to the public consultation period on the use of e-collars follows criticism from the political sphere that farmers and dog owners were not aware that a consultation had even been launched.
Last week, independent senator Rónán Mullen claimed the minister was “trying to hide” the proposal to ban electronic training collars for dogs from farmers and dog owners.
Senator Mullen said the notice about the consultation did not have any heading on the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) website, and also did not have a briefing note for stakeholders or members of the public.
He even went so far as to claim the department “buried” the notice as the proposal itself has proven controversial in other countries.
Meanwhile, the implications of a proposed ban on e-collars have not been thought through, according to independent Kerry TD Michael Healy-Rae.
He claimed that the proposal, which is supported by Fine Gael Senator Regina Doherty, could lead further to other livestock solutions being affected describing it as a “wrong and backward step”.