Challenge to proposed ban on electronic pet collars dismissed

The High Court (Morris J) has dismissed a claim for judicial review of the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs decision to proceed to a legislative ban on the use of pet "e-collars": electronic collars used particularly on dogs for discipline and control. The collars concerned can be remotely operated to deliver an electric shock to the animal. The Secretary of State wishes to ban the collars under s 12 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006. The proposed ban was challenged by the Electronic Collars Manufacturers Association and by one of its members on a number of grounds. It was alleged that the consultation process was flawed and that the Secretary of State had unlawfully predetermined the outcome of that process; that he had failed to carry out sufficient enquiries before announcing his policy; that the proposal was irrational; and that the proposal amounted to a disproportionate interference with the rights of manufacturers under Article 1 of the First Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights and under Article 34 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. Following a five day judicial review hearing, Morris J dismissed all the grounds of challenge. A copy of the judgment can be found here. Richard Turney acted for the Secretary of State, instructed by the Government Legal Department.