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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has (a) taken recent steps towards and (b) had discussions with the Northern Ireland Executive on a legislative ban on the sale of aversive training tools for domestic animals in Northern Ireland.

Animal welfare is a devolved matter; responsibility for animal welfare policy in Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Executive.

Defra has regular discussions on animal welfare matters with the Northern Ireland Executive.

In England, Defra’s Code of Practice for the welfare of dogs supports positive reward training techniques for dogs. As set out in the Animal Welfare Strategy for England, we will consult on whether to ban the use of electric shock collars later in this Parliament.