Leading animal welfare and veterinary organisations, charities and local authorities have vowed to continue in their path to change dangerous dog legislation for good despite the postponement of Lord Redesdale’s Dog Control Bill Committee Stage today.

The Bill, which is intended to replace failed dangerous dog legislation, proposes to repeal breed specific legislation, introduction of Dog Control Notices, and application to both public and private places; was constructed by the Dangerous Dogs Act Study Group (DDASG) and put forward by Lib Dem Peer, Lord Redesdale, as a Private Members Bill.

DDASG includes organisations which represent animal welfare, local authorities and veterinary professional organisations which include Battersea Dogs Home, Blue Cross, British Veterinary Association, Dogs Trust, the Kennel Club, Mayhew Animal Home, Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, Wandsworth Borough Council and Wood Green Animal Shelters.

The proposed Bill yesterday received the backing of the Communication Workers Union, which would like to see legislation being introduced to allow prosecutions to be brought in cases where dogs attack people on private property, as this would better protect their members when delivering mail.

The rescheduled date for Committee Stage of the Dog Control Bill is yet to be confirmed. 

In support of the Bill, DDASGlaunched a petition which has now received over 10,000 signatures. The petition can be found here. Click here for more information on DDASG, Lord Redesdale’s Dog Control Bill and current legislation.

ENDS

21^st January 2011
[026.11] 

For further press information, images or interview requests please contact:

Victoria Brown, DDASG coordinator
07540 731320 / 020 7518 1008
victoria.brown@thekennelclub.org.uk

Notes to Editors

The Dangerous Dogs Act Study Group:

The Dangerous Dogs Act Study Group (DDASG) is a wide-ranging group representing animal welfare, local authorities and veterinary professional organisations and includes representation from:

Battersea Dogs & Cats Home
Blue Cross
British Veterinary Association
British Small Animal Veterinary Association
Dogs Trust
Kennel Club
Mayhew Animal Home
RoyalCollegeof Veterinary Surgeons
Wandsworth Borough Council
Wood Green Animal Shelters 

The Dog Control Billwould look to change the following:

• Repeal all existing ‘dangerous dogs’ legislation including breed specific legislation

The police expend significant resources on enforcement of the Dangerous Dogs Act, with large amounts of money being spent on the seizure and kennelling of dogs simply because of their breed type - many of which are returned to their owners once proved to be of good temperament. Removing breed specific legislation would allow those resources to be used more effectively elsewhere, and preferably to concentrate on those dogs showing unprovoked aggression.

• Introduce Dog Control Notices

The vast majority of dog attacks are as a result of the irresponsible actions of dog owners, who have either not taken the time and trouble to train their dog correctly, or have indeed trained them to behave aggressively. Dog Control Notices will apply to all types of dog that have acted dangerously without provocation, caused an injury to another protected animal (as defined by the Animal Welfare Act 2006), caused harm, or caused a person to reasonably believe it will cause harm, and works to prevent serious incidents of aggression occurring by allowing preventative action.

• Apply to both public and private places

A large proportion of dog attacks occur in the home and involve a dog that is known to the victim. The Dog Control Bill will make attacks on private property a criminal offence. Greater responsibility is therefore placed on owners to ensure that their dogs are not out of control in any place. It is not acceptable for an owner to allow their dog to behave aggressively either in the home or in a public place. The Bill does however include exemptions to cover circumstances such as an attack or aggression as a result of an attack by another animal, or on a person whilst that person is committing an offence.

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