VetPro

Posted by: **jenvetnurse** on Wed Mar 27, 2013 10:48 pm

JADE ANDERSON DEATH HIGHLIGHTS URGENT NEED FOR CHANGE IN DANGEROUS DOG LAW SAYS KENNEL CLUB

Following the tragic death of schoolgirl, Jade Anderson, the Kennel Club urges the government to change fatally flawed dangerous dogs legislation.

Caroline Kisko, Kennel Club Secretary, said: “We are truly saddened to hear about the death of Jade Anderson and our thoughts and deepest condolences go to her family.

“We do not know the specific circumstances surrounding this incident, but the fact that dog related incidents continue to occur highlights how ineffective the current dangerous dogs legislation is.

“We wonder how many more tragedies must take place before the government admits that the breed specific legislation in the Dangerous Dogs Act is fatally flawed, wasting limited police resources on seizing dogs of a particular breed, rather than focusing on dogs of any breed that are out of control. Recent incidents have involved many different breeds, showing that any dog can be dangerous in the wrong hands.

“Breed specific legislation is also having the unintended consequence of turning banned breeds into status symbols, so that they are taken on by the wrong people who train them for the purposes of fighting or aggression.

“We urgently need Dog Control Notices to be introduced, to deal with the owners of dogs that are out of control at the earliest signs of a problem. Recent government proposals to extend section three of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 to apply to attacks that take place on private property, as appeared to happen in this case, are welcome, but we stress that children should never be left alone with any dog, regardless of its breed or previous behaviour.”

To find out about the Kennel Club’s dangerous dogs campaign, visit www.thekennelclub.org.uk/dangerousdogs.

Posted by: **jenvetnurse** on Thu Aug 30, 2012 6:28 pm

New guidelines on sentencing for dangerous dog offences have come into effect.  There are concerns that recent Government proposals to change the dangerous dog legislation fail to include genuinely preventative measures. The new guidelines issued by the Sentencing Council will help to ensure that courts are able to use more power, when dealing with irresponsible owners. These irresponsible owners allow their dogs to be dangerously out of control. Guidelines includes injuries to other animals.and have been extended.

The Sentencing Councils has issued new guidelines which ensure the penalties for owning a banned breed will be applied to owners of dangerous dogs of any kind.  This is good news as it will make it easier to ban the se owners from keeping dogs.  For genuinely dangerous dogs to be euthanased and for compensation to be paid to the victims who sustain injuries. This also means that more offenders will face jail sentences and community orders.

Many of us agree this is a step in the right direction.  Of course there are concerns that these measures on their own - will not completely protect the public from incidents involving dangerous dogs as they are reactive rather than preventative. This is a valid point. Prevention is the key. VetPro will keep you posted.

Posted by: **jenvetnurse** on Sat Jun 30, 2012 12:53 am

Defra is seeking views on a proposed package of measures aimed at tackling irresponsible ownership of dogs. The main proposals:

Extending the criminal offence of allowing a dog to be dangerously out of control to private property (where the dog has a right to be);
Compulsory microchipping of dogs;
Removing the need to seize and kennel all dogs where court proceeding are pending; and
Increase the fee for placing a dog on the Index of Exempted Dogs

The proposals, along with other work we are already carrying out, provide a mix of preventative, educational and punitive measures which are designed to tackle a variety of problems (e.g. allowing dogs to become dangerous, status dogs, allowing dogs to stray and general irresponsible ownership leading to poor welfare and anti-social behaviour).

How to respond

Anyone may reply to this consultation. Defra would like to hear from anyone with an interest in responsible dog ownership, including: enforcement agencies; people working with dogs; animal welfare organisations; dog keeping orgainsations; and the general public.

You can complete the survey on-line at: www.surveymonkey.com/s/dogsconsultation2012

This survey does not collect any personal data.

Alternatively, you can e-mail your response to: animalwelfare.consultations@defra.gsi.gov.uk

You may also send your comments, or any requests for copies of the documents, by post to:

Dangerous Dogs Team

Animal Welfare

Area 8B, 9 Millbank

c/o 17 Smith Square

London

SW1P 3JR

Posted by: **jenvetnurse** on Fri May 18, 2012 10:58 pm

A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION FOR DOG LAW REFORM BUT FURTHER ACTION IS NEEDED, SAYS KENNEL CLUB

The Kennel Club has welcomed guidelines published today on sentencing for dangerous dog offences but remains concerned that recent government proposals to update flawed dangerous dog legislation fail to include genuinely preventative measures. The Sentencing Council’s new guidelines will help to ensure that courts use their full power when dealing with irresponsible owners who allow their dog to be dangerously out of control, as well as extending the guidelines to include injuries to other animals in terms of the offence of allowing a dog to be out of control.

The guidelines will further ensure that the penalties for owning a banned breed will now be applied to owners of dangerous dogs of any kind, making it easier for offenders to be banned from keeping dogs, for genuinely dangerous dogs to be put down, and for compensation to be paid to victims of dog bites. Furthermore this will mean more offenders will face jail sentences and community orders.

The Kennel Club believes that this is a step in the right direction in reforming current flawed dangerous dog legislation, but is concerned that these measures alone will not fully protect the public from incidents involving dangerous dogs as it is reactive rather than preventative.

This new announcement comes after a ministerial announcement last month in which the government pledged to promote responsible dog ownership through a package of measures to ‘tackle irresponsible dog ownership’. The Kennel Club commended the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ plans to consult on the introduction of compulsory microchipping which will help to crack down on the owners of dangerous dogs, but also labelled it a missed opportunity to better protect the public by preventing dog attacks.

Caroline Kisko, Communications Director for the Kennel Club, said: “These guidelines go a long way in sending out the message that irresponsible ownership will not be tolerated and will help the courts hold bad owners to account. However, the Kennel Club still has concerns that these measures do not address the real issue, which is the urgent need for genuinely preventative measures. “We welcome the fact that sentencing in this area will now be more consistent, but what is really needed are ways of reducing dog bite incidents in the first place. The Kennel Club believes this must be done through education, more resources and power to the police and local authorities to deal with the first signs of irresponsible dog owners, and the use of Dog Control Notices to encourage responsible dog ownership to avoid bad behaviour escalating and cases like these having to go in front of a judge.”

The issue of dog fighting has also been addressed in the new guidelines, and training a dog to fight or being in possession of dog fighting paraphernalia will increase the seriousness of committing the offence of owning a banned dog, which will further serve to bring irresponsible owners of any dog to account.

The Kennel Club welcomed some aspects of April’s ministerial announcement, including Defra’s decision to extend the law to private property and to remove the mandatory requirement to seize and kennel all dogs suspected to be ‘of type’ under section 1 of the Dangerous Dogs Act. Whilst it welcomed the government’s commitment to invest in community projects to promote responsible dog ownership, the Kennel Club feels that £50,000 shared throughout the UK is unlikely to give local authorities sufficient resources towards improving measures to prevent dog bite incidents and protect the public from aggressive dogs and their owners.

For more information on the Sentencing Council’s guidelines on new sentencing proposals for dangerous dog offences, please visit

http://sentencingcouncil.judiciary.gov.uk/guidelines/forthcoming-guidelines.htm.

To find out more about the Kennel Club’s Dangerous Dogs campaign, or to get involved, please visit www.thekennelclub.org.uk/dangerousdogs.

Posted by: **jenvetnurse** on Wed Apr 25, 2012 11:27 pm

Dogs Trust, the UK’s largest dog welfare charity, has expressed disappointment and frustration that a Written Ministerial Statement on tackling irresponsible dog ownership announced today has failed to effectively address two elements that the charity believes are vital to successful policy in this area – compulsory microchipping of all dogs to connect owners with their dogs and preventative measures to reduce the number of dog attacks.

The announcement today, which Dogs Trust believes will provide an outline for the government’s future proposals on dangerous dog law, has been long awaited and the charity had hoped that it would signal some significant and effective changes to dangerous dog legislation. It has taken over twenty years of campaigning to get the government to attempt to redress the mistakes that were made by rushing the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 through Parliament.

Dogs Trust believes that compulsory microchipping of all dogs should form a central part of any future policy on tackling irresponsible dog ownership. Microchipping will not prevent attacks but the charity believes that it is the most effective way to link a dog to its owner and to make irresponsible owners accountable for the actions of their dog. Microchipping all puppies is a step in the right direction but will mean that the effectiveness of any policy will be delayed by upwards of 10 years. Dogs Trust research shows that 83% of the UK population believe all dogs should be microchipped - it is hard to understand why government is so reluctant to take this step.

The charity is also concerned that this consultation makes little provision for the prevention of dog attacks. We would like to see the government identify ways to deal with irresponsible owners before an attack takes place, which could take the form of Dog Control Notices to keep dogs on a lead or muzzled in public places where necessary.

Dogs Trust does, however, welcome an extension of the law to private property as this would send a strong signal to owners who fail to keep their dogs under control that they could now face the full force of the law. The charity believes that the most severe attacks should be considered a criminal matter, while minor incidents should continue to be dealt with as a civil matter by the courts under the Dogs Act 1871, but with a power of compensation for the victims of dog attacks.

And finally, in the absence of a repeal of breed specific legislation, Dogs Trust would like new provisions to be introduced that would better improve welfare for dogs that could be deemed to be of ‘type’ by allowing responsible owners to make applications to Court for their dog to be registered and for Magistrates to be given a new power to allow a dog to be returned home on ‘bail’ pending a case being concluded.

Clarissa Baldwin, CEO of Dogs Trust, says:

“The Government has spent a great deal of time examining this legislation since it came to power and whilst we accept DEFRA has done their best to look at this issue, unfortunately, their best is no where near good enough. Not good enough to better protect the public or good enough to improve animal welfare.

“Government must tackle this problem head on with completely new legislation rather than just tinkering around the edges. We’re extremely disillusioned that there is nothing in the consultation on measures that will actually help to prevent dog attacks, which is surely what the aim of these proposals should be. We seem to be waltzing along on this issue rather than the quick step we need to meaningful reform.

“We consider that the introduction of compulsory microchipping of all dogs, not just those born after a certain date, is the only way that we will see immediate welfare benefits and a reduction in the number of stray dogs in the UK.

“Microchipping will not prevent dog attacks but it will allow the owner of a dangerous dog or a dog that was dangerously out of control to be identified by enforcement agencies. The act of microchipping is also a key intervention, providing an opportunity to advise owners about responsible dog ownership and the law