Don't bin the ban on shock collars
The British public care passionately about animal welfare - and it was encouraging that, for some while, the UK Government seemed to understand those values.
Boris Johnson stood on the steps of Downing Street and in his maiden speech as Prime Minister, namechecked animal welfare as an issue his administration would prioritise. I don't believe that is something any PM has ever done before.
And there was some proof in the pudding - including tougher sentences for the worst perpetrators of animal abuse, and a ban on the use of dreadful glue traps to trap pets. Progress.
There were promises of so, so much more, too. Yet in a devastating few months for animal welfare policies, these promises have increasingly found themselves dumped on the Whitehall scrapheap.
The headline-grabber was a wide-ranging Kept Animals Bill - including restrictions on the keeping of primates as pets, ending live exports and stopping the importation of mutilated dogs. All very positive stuff. But after spending some 18 months in parliamentary limbo, the UK Government recently dropped the Bill, undoing years of hard work and leaving fresh doubts as to the future of its policy platform.
There was also a government pledge that any post-Brexit trade deals wouldn't open the doors to lower welfare produce - and plans to consult on labelling to give consumers more knowledge than ever before about the provenance of the food on their plates. Both, too, failed. Trade agreements have been signed that openly threaten to undermine our high farming standards at home, while a consultation on food labelling has been quietly shelved.
And now - there are fears the UK Government's animal agenda could be left in complete tatters, as concern grows that plans to ban the use of dangerous electric shock collars could also be for the chop - the victim of another U-turn, with England's cats and dogs set to pay the price.
Banning shock collars seems a no-brainer for any administration which cares about the welfare of pets. So it was really positive when the UK Government brought forward legislation earlier this year to do this; and initially all seemed well - as it cleared the House of Lords without breaking a sweat.
But there is growing concern that Ministers are getting cold feet - amid weeks of agonising silence.
Defra is being inundated with emails from lobbyists - many reportedly with a commercial interest in keeping eCollars. Worryingly, there's rumours abound that Defra might be listening.
Shock collars can cause fear and pain in dogs and cats - and have been illegal in Wales for more than a decade. They were outlawed there in 2010 with users of the devices subsequently being punished by law.
Yet hop across Offa's Dyke, and dog and cat owners are still free to use them.
E-collars are put on pets to prevent unwanted behaviour, in a sad advert for punitive training. They deliver electrical stimuli either on demand by remote control.
I'm aghast that anyone would think it acceptable to treat their pets this way. These devices can cause pain, distress, and actually worsen underlying behavioural problems, by causing anxiety and aggression.
And it is difficult to predict the level of stimulus needed to stop the behaviour - and for humans to understand how the cat or dog will experience it, potentially making the experience even more unbearable for the animals subjected to them.
But aside from the welfare complications, what statement do these devices send about how society prioritises our pets? Rather than reward-based, positive training, is it simply okay for owners to knowingly use tools designed to cause pain and fear by electrocuting them instead? It’s appalling.
After months of depressing policy u-turns for animals, binning the ban on shock collars would put this government's animal welfare agenda - which once promised so much - into complete collapse.
As time ticks down before next year's anticipated general election, ministers must keep their promises to England's cats and dogs and ensure this ban comes into effect, as soon as possible.
Esme Wheeler is a Global Affairs Advisor at Brooke, an international charity that protects horses, donkeys and mules and supports people in the developing world to work their way out of poverty.
