Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what advice he has (a) commissioned and (b) received from the Animal Welfare Committee on the use of electronic training collars since 2018.

The Animal Welfare Committee (AWC) has not been commissioned to produce advice on the use of e-collars for cats and dogs. The AWC report ‘Opinion on the welfare implications of using virtual fencing systems to contain, move and monitor livestock’ was published in October 2022. This opinion was limited to the welfare effects of electronic collars used as part of virtual containment systems for cattle, sheep and goats.