Electric shock collars for pets to be banned in England They can make dogs anxious and cause even worse behavioural issues

Collars that emit electric shocks to train pets will be banned from sale in England.

The collars, which send volts into a dog’s neck to train them out of certain behaviours, will no longer be available to use in the country.

“Readily available to buy at the click of a button”

Dogs Trust, who have been pushing for the ban, said that a third of the people they surveyed about collar usage believed that the collars were already banned.

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“Eighty-four per cent of people know that shock collars cause a dog pain, but the sad reality is that they are still readily available to buy at the click of a button,” wrote the Dogs Trust in an online push for the ban.

“These torturous devices can send between 100 to 6,000 volts to a dog’s neck, and have the capacity to continuously shock a dog for up to 11 terrifying seconds at a time.”

There are also versions of the collars that release a noxious scent that troubles the animal’s heightened sense of smell.

Some pet owners have justified the use of the collars in situations which could otherwise mean that the dog is killed, citing crossing roads and trespassing on land.

Experts advocating for the ban said that they can worsen underlying behavioural problems and give dogs anxiety.

A nation of dog lovers

Environment secretary Michael Gove has welcomed the ban.

“The use of punitive shock collars causes harm and suffering to our pets.

“This ban will improve the welfare of animals and I urge pet owners to instead use positive-reward training methods.”

The secretary also described England as “a nation of dog lovers”.

One in five UK people said that they would back an animal charity over a human one, according to YouGov.

Electric shock dog collars are already banned in Wales, and will soon be banned in Scotland.

Invisible fencing systems, however, are still legal in the UK.

These devices, designed to keep cats away from roads, emit a shock if the animal ends up moving out of boundary lines.