A call by the Kennel Club and the Scottish Kennel Club for a total ban on the sale and use of electric training collars in Scotland is disproportionate, says BASC.
The call came after the two organisations hosted a meeting in the Scottish Parliament to urge MSPs to support a ban on the devices.
Almost 60 per cent of BASC members have working gundogs and will commonly use reward-based training to ensure high standards of behaviour in the field and home.
However, the UK’s largest shooting organisation believes electronic training collars can safely be used when previous methods have failed to resolve serious behavioural problems such as chasing livestock. BASC is aware of circumstances when this approach has prevented “problem dogs” being put down.
The Scottish Government has already decided against an outright ban. In the future, regulation will ensure that such collars can only be used under the guidance of an approved trainer or a vet.
BASC represents more than 11,000 members in Scotland.
Dr Colin Shedden, BASC Scotland director, said: “BASC believes that animal welfare legislation is already robust enough to deal with any abuse of such devices.
“There is little scientific evidence relating to these aids being inherently harmful to the welfare of dogs and no convincing evidence of long-term effects on welfare if collars are used in accordance with manufacturers’ instructions, and under guidance.”
ENDS