PDTE 2010 June Newsletter

BOARD’S CORNER
A BIG THANKS To SALLY HOPKINS
For sponsoring the PDTE!
The Board would to thank you wholeheartedly, Sally, on behalf of all PDTE
members, for printing and distributing 2000 copies of the PDTE flyer at Crufts.
As a result the PDTE has become much better known.
Wales has become
the first part of
the UK to outlaw
the use of
electric shock
collars to train
cats and dogs
The ban, passed by assembly members,
means that anyone caught using the
devices faces a fine of up to £20,000 or six
months in prison.
Animal welfare groups such as the RSPCA
and the Kennel Club supported the move.
The Electronic Collar Manufacturers’ Association
said it feared the ban could lead
THANK YOU :-)
to an influx of unmanageable pets into dog
shelters.
The collars are sometimes used to train
dogs and cats by giving an electric shock
when the animal is deemed to have
behaved badly.
Wales’ Rural Affairs Minister Elin Jones,
who announced plans for the ban last
month, said she was “very pleased.” “It
is important that owners are aware of the
ban, and that they now take appropriate
steps to comply with the law,” she added.
“Today, Wales has proven that it is truly
leading the way and we hope that the rest
of the UK will follow” said Caroline Kisko
of the Kennel Club. “I’m pleased that as a
Country representatives
Austria
Denmark Turid Rugaas turidrug@frisurf.no
England Ali Zaffar zaffarmeister@gmail.com
Finland Raili Halme raili@rakkaathaukut.fi
Germany Sonja Hoegen hoegen@dogcom.de
Greece Yiannis Arachovitis info@stardogs.gr
Ireland
Italy Chiara Gentileschi tristan22@virgilio.it
Netherlands Nelis Verhoeven info@zandberghoeve.com
Norway Turid Rugaas turidrug@frisurf.no
Poland Zula Przyblinska zprzybylinska@axio.com.pl
SCOTLAND Max Muir info@action4dogs.co.uk
Spain Cristina Muro muro.cristina@gmail.com
Sweden Turid Rugaas turidrug@frisurf.no
Switzerland Susi Roger relosuga@bluewin.ch
government, we are taking a proactive approach
to promoting the welfare of animals
by banning the use of such electronic
training devices in Wales.”
The RSPCA said it believed there was no
place for shock collars in modern animal
training and recommended the use of
reward-based methods instead.
Kennel Club members staged a display
outside the Senedd in Cardiff Bay before
the vote.
Its communications director Caroline Kisko
said: “This is a historic day for animal
welfare in Wales and we are absolutely delighted
that so many AMs voted in favour
of the regulations.
“Today, Wales has proven that it is truly
leading the way and we hope that the rest
of the UK will follow by example to outlaw
these cruel and unnecessary devices.”
‘Bad idea’
But manufacturers said the devices helped
to successfully train dogs not to chase
livestock, or attack other pets or people.
Duncan McNair, of the Electronic Collar
Manufacturers’ Association, said: “It’s a
bad idea because more dogs will die, more
dogs will have to be re-homed and more
owners will have to be distressed at having
to give up their pets.”
He said there were around 500,000 of the
collars in the UK and said, at a rough estimate,
there were around 20,000 in Wales.
“I wouldn’t dream of suggesting that
people disobey the law, everybody will
be making their own decision about what
they do, but what I do think is that if a
large number of people who use them stop
using them, there will be an influx of dogs
into dog shelters.”
there are STILL A few countries without
representatives. If you are interested please
contact Turid turidrug@frisurf.no
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PDTE NEWS