A CARDIGAN woman campaigning to allow electronic collars for containment fencing on cats and dogs in Wales is planning an open day to prove how effective the system is.

Monima O’Connor from Llangoedmor has been spearheading “Save Our Welsh Cats & Dogs From Death on the Roads” to allow the collars once again to be used in Wales, where they are currently illegal.

In England, a consultation into electronic ’shock ‘ collars for companion pets is anticipated to be made public soon.

“Apparently there has been over 7,000 respondents to the consultation This is in sharp contrast to less than 300 in Wales for its public consultations between 2006- 2008,” said Monima

“For the sake of clarity, there are two distinctly different types of electronic collars . One is human-activated to train a dog, the other is animal-activated and prevents pets from straying onto roads.

“Pet owners here face a penalty of up to 52 weeks in jail just for protecting their beloved pets from getting killed on roads.

“Both the Kennel Club and the Cats Protection League wrote then that a ban on animal-activated containment fencing system collars was not as necessary as the human-activated dog training aids.

“However, the RSPCA is opposed and has ignored all evidence to the contrary. Nevertheless, a blanket ban was introduced in 2010 and Wales remains the only country in the UK to outlaw these devices.”

Former RSPCA Chief Vetinerary Officer Chris Laurence was apparently discovered by a newspaper using containment fencing in Wiltshire to stop his own cat and dog getting out.

Also, in 2016 results of a three-year study by the University of Lincoln of cats using fencing systems proved conclusively that there was no harm done.

With Monima’s now ‘‘legal’ containment collars system, AMs Elin Jones, Simon Thomas and Paul Davies all accepted invitations independently from her to witness for themselves how effective the system was.

Additionally, she has on more than one occasion invited the local RSPCA to visit so she can demonstrate the system promotes good welfare. On each occasion, she has been unsuccessful even when local AM Elin Jones agreed to be present at the property to facilitate the meeting with the RSPCA representative.

Monima is now planning an open day for Cardigan residents interested to see how this harmless system works and will announce it in due course.