New Bill To Tackle Irresponsible Dog Owners Passes To Next Stage

A new Dog Control Bill designed to deal with the other end of the lead, the dog owners themselves, has successfully passed its second stage in the House of Lords today.
By: the Kennel Club
 
July 12, 2010 - PRLog -- Liberal Democrat Peer Rupert Redesdale outlined before the Lords his intention to introduce major changes to current dangerous dog legislation, which is widely considered to be one of the most ineffective pieces of government legislation ever brought into force.

These changes include:
•   More emphasis on the owner’s responsibilities – the Bill supports the principle that it is the owner who has the potential to make a dog either well-behaved or badly-behaved. It gives authorised officers the powers to place Dog Control Notices on irresponsible owners at the first signs of dog aggression.

•   Legislation will no longer be breed specific – since the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, public money and resources have been wasted by already overstretched police authorities seizing dogs simply for being of a particular breed or type. Research now overwhelmingly supports the principle of ‘deed not breed’, and proves that genetics (breed) play only a limited part in the temperament of an individual dog, with environment and training having a far greater effect.

•   Attacks which take place on private property would also become a criminal offence – a large number of dog attack incidents occur within the home and on private property. The Bill includes various exemptions such as being attacked by another animal, provocation, and attacks on individuals committing an offence for which they could be imprisoned.

Regarding the second reading, Lord Redesdale commented: “the Control of Dogs Bill has had a successful second stage and is now going to Committee in the House of Lords. A number of issues were raised which will have to be dealt with in Committee but all contributions in the debate stressed the need for responsibility on the other end of the lead – with owners”.

Lord Redesdale’s work on the Bill has been supported by the Dangerous Dogs Act Study Group, which is made up of animal welfare organisations, veterinary professionals and local authorities. The DDASG has lobbied against the inadequacies of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 for many years and believes that current legislation has failed to protect the public and instead caused a significant welfare issue whilst creating the problem of status dogs.

DDASG Chairman and Veterinary Director of Dogs Trust, Chris Laurence said “Contrary to the comments of Lord Grantchester in this afternoon’s speech, Dogs Trust wholeheartedly supports the work of the DDASG,  which we Chair, and Lord Redesdale’s Dog Control Bill.

The Bill focuses on prevention rather than cure, better protects the public and emphasises responsible dog ownership and all members of DDASG are delighted that it has passed its next stage through Parliament”.

Existing legislation has failed to reduce the number of dog bite incidents in the UK, which have risen in the past five years by 79% in London and 43% nationally*.  Meanwhile costs have continued to rise; it was revealed that 10 million pounds has been spent by the Metropolitan Police alone in the past 3 years simply to implement Section 1 of the Dangerous Dogs Act, relating to the seizure, kennelling and euthanasia of banned breeds.

The Dangerous Dogs Act Study Group has also launched a petition supporting Lord Redesdale’s Dog Control Bill which already has almost 10,000 signatures. The petition can be found at http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/repeal-and-replace-th...

For more information on DDASG, Lord Redesdale’s Dog Control Bill and current ‘dangerous dog’ legislation visit http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/item/928

ENDS
9th July 2010

For further press information, images or interview requests please contact:
Victoria Brown, DDASG coordinator
020 7518 1008
victoria.brown@thekennelclub.org.uk

Caption:

The new hard hitting  Dog Control Bill is focusing on the other end of the lead – the owner.

Notes to Editors

*Figures quoted from London Dangerous Dog Forum Evidence Base Research Paper and available on request.

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
Mayhew Animal Home
British Veterinary Association
Dogs Trust
Kennel Club
Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons
Wandsworth Borough Council
Wood Green Animal Shelters

The DDASG considers that the Dangerous Dogs Act needs to be overhauled to better protect the public and that a new dog control regime which emphasises responsible dog ownership should be introduced.

Lord Redesdale’s Private Members Bill provides for the following:

•   Repeal of the Dogs Act 1871, the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 and the Dangerous Dogs (Amendment) Act 1997 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 these dogs are returned to their owners once proved to be of good temperament. Removing breed specific legislation would allow resources to be used more effectively elsewhere, and preferably concentrated on those dogs showing unprovoked aggression.

•   Introduce Dog Control Notices
The vast majority of dog attacks are 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 the dog to behave aggressively. Dog Control Notices will apply to all types of dog that have acted dangerously without provocation, caused an injury to another animal, caused harm, or caused a person to reasonably believe it will cause harm and aims 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 that take place 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.

Full wording of the DDASG petition:
http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/repeal-and-replace-the-dangerous-dogs-act.html

We, the undersigned, call on the government to repeal the Dogs Act 1871, the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 and the Dangerous Dogs (Amendment) Act 1997.

We petition the Government to repeal the Dangerous Dogs Act and replace it with alternative legislation that;

•   Protects the public against dogs dangerously out of control without compromising any individual dog’s welfare.

•   Embodies the principle of ‘deed not breed’ and opposes breed specific legislation on the grounds that a dog’s behaviour is influenced more by its environment, the training it receives and the responsibility of its owner, than it is by genetics (i.e. its breed or type).  

We support the Dog Control Bill which seeks to better protect the public, place greater responsibility on dog owners and remove the huge welfare implications affecting dogs deemed to be of a certain type.
End
Source:the Kennel Club
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Tags:Dangerous Dogs, Dog Control, Banned Dogs
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Page Updated Last on: Jul 12, 2010



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