Zac Goldsmith makes dog law by letter

A government minister is trying to make law by letter. In what’s likely to be his last days in office, DEFRA minister Lord Zac Goldsmith is announcing rules that reflect his animal rights agenda, and that are not on the statute book. In a letter to an MP, Goldsmith claims that electronic collars are to be banned, and that only the reward-based training of dogs is allowed. He wants to outlaw owners who say ‘no’ to a dog. The founder of the Association of Responsible Dog Owners, Jamie Penrith is a former police dog handler and dog trainer who specialises in problem dogs. He explains how Zac Goldsmith is getting it wrong - and why the animal rights agenda of DEFRA under Boris Johnson’s government is causing harm to dogs.