New Zealand Prime Minister Luxon approves controversial electric dog collars on farms
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has approved a bill that legalises electric collars for farm and hunting dogs nationally, despite warnings from animal-welfare groups. The decision follows pressure from the rural electorate. SPCA and the Royal NZ Vet Association are said to be preparing to challenge the law in the courts.
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, at a press conference at the Beehive on Friday, announced the government's backing for the Animals (Training and Management) Amendment Bill, which legalises electric collars for farm and hunting dogs at the national level. According to RNZ, the bill passed parliament 64–58 after lobbying by Federated Farmers, the farmers' representative body.
SPCA Chief Executive Andrea Midgen said in a statement that "making this a legal tool contradicts decades of field evidence we've built up." The Royal New Zealand Vet Association said it would take the law to the High Court. Federated Farmers argued the collars are necessary, especially to keep huntaway sheepdogs away from gardens and roads, and said sound and vibration modes would be used as the first option ahead of an electric pulse in practice.
The law requires manufacturers to sell only models with pulse strength below a defined threshold, and owners to obtain an annual veterinary certificate. It comes into force on 1 September. Luxon said the government had "struck a balanced framework between animal welfare and rural safety." Labour Party rural spokesperson Kieran McAnulty replied that "we will review the legal framework after the November elections."
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