DUP councillor's call for electric shock collars for dogs sparks concerns over animal cruelty

Lisburn and Castlereagh Councillor Alan Givan made the call amid the outcome of a long running council court case on a Dundonald pit bull type dog and a new Stormont consultation on dog ownership details.

Doubts over the breed and sale of Max the dog resulted in a £53k legal bill for Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council.

However, Councillor Givan’s suggestion in chambers caused an Alliance concern over cruelty to animals.

Councillor Givan said: ”I know it may not be popular these days, but I think on occasion a choke chain or a collar to produce an electric shock could be used on certain animals.

“There are times when you have a very cross big dog, one of those XL-Bullies and it may have lost the control of itself and it decides to attack another dog, person or a child.

“It may be necessary to apply very strong measures to get that dog to behave rather than have someone mauled. These dogs are dangerous.

“If the police apply a taser to a person who has lost control and we see that is effective, and some dogs can be particularly vicious…sometimes extreme measures have to be taken to bring that dog to heel.”

Alliance Alderman Martin Gregg said: ”I just want to be hesitant that the last voice (Cllr Givan) we heard is not representative of the council and certainly we could not advocate for what sounds like cruelty to animals.

“I just want that on record. We could not advocate for that whatsoever.”

UUP Alderman James Baird said: ”I welcome the department’s proposal making it an offence that dog owners do not update dog ownership, following our experience last year with the dog.

He added: “I think I would agree with Councillor Givan, that there’s a big difference between control and cruelty.

“What some may perceive as restrictive of a dog’s nature is keeping it under control and the owner should know how to do it.

“For Alderman Gregg to turn around and say that the council is against cruelty, all of us are against cruelty.”

The prolonged case over Max the dog from December 2024 to October 2025, generated a UK precedent over Pit Bull type breeds. The court ruled that the dog was a banned breed.

Max had become a stray on the Comber Greenway in Dundonald, after he was “sold on Gumtree”.

'Max' was ruled to be a Pit Bull type banned breed by a Lisburn judge but he escaped a court destruction order and was re-homed in Antrim.

Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council and animal campaigners had fought over the assessment of the stray for almost a year while the dog was held in council kennels.

The case presented new key learnings, with the local authority now to hold registered keepers liable for dogs that are micro-chipped in their name, despite claims of pets being sold.