Pressure on the UK mounting over Dangerous Dogs ACt

In 1991, the UK passed the Dangerous Dogs Act -- which put bans on four breeds of dogs: American Pit Bull Terriers, Fila Brasilero, Dogo Argentino and Japanese Tosas.

But in the wake of yet another fatal dog attack in the country, the pressure to repeal the ban is mounting.

In fairness, it is not just over the fatal dog attack. Attacks in the UK have gone up tremendously over the past 15 years.  The Bristol area the UK has seen dog bites quintuple over the past 4 years (although the starting number was fairly small). Attacks requiring hospitalization in the whole country have gone up 66% over the past 15 years.

The whole mess has led to calls for the UK to repeal the Dangerous Dogs Act. The nation has noted that in many ways, the ban has actually increased the demand for the banned breeds and that the problems continue to go up.  As one MP said:

"We think it is necessary to move away from breed-specific legislation to anti-social pets, so dog protection notices can be applied to the owner as well as the dog.  It's about trying to nip this in the bud before there are any injuries or fatalities."

The Animal Welfare Minister Jim Pace agrees:

"The issue of dangerous dogs is not a problem of dangerous breeds, but also one of bad owners.  They need to be held to account and stopped from ruining people's lives." 

The media is also calling for changes. One columnist from the London Telegraph, the nation's largest newspaper, is calling for the law to be changed. 

"When 'dangerous breeds' are banned, the response of those who desire to have large muscular dogs that look intimidating is predictable: they seek out a similar type dog that is not on the list of dangerous breeds.....the latest 'dog attack' episode clearly shows the uselessness of breed specific legislation."

A recent report Department for Enviornment, Food and Rural Affairs, DEFRA, released their findings, and now 88% of the responses from over fifty organizations (including the British Veterinary Medical Association, Metropolitan Police Service and National Dog Warden Association) say they don't believe the current legislation is effective at protecting the public, and 71% believe BSL should be repealed.

The UK is starting to feel the pressure and the public is realizing the failure of the legislation. Hopefully they will see that the law is failing, and put into place a solid, breed-neutral law that will target aggressive dogs, based on behavior, that will work on removing dangerous dogs regardless of what breed of dog it is.  Many other countries in Europe have repealed their breed-specific laws and replaced them with breed neutral laws - - including Scotland (to the best of their abilities, they are still technically under the Dangerous Dogs Act), Italy, and The Netherlands.

Smart governments are willing to learn from their mistakes, recognize ineffective policy, and change their laws.  We'll see if "smart" applies to the UK governing body.  The pressure from the public is on.

Comments

[kmk]

you have to wonder about a country where Staffy Bulls and Bull Terriers are beloved breeds, but the American Pit Bull Terrier is banned. That makes no sense.

The English have some amusing peculiarities in their language. I went to the Bristol article and it appears that dogs are increasingly "worrying" people.

they're having the same problem on the other side of The Pond we're experiencing here. Two words - bad owners. Dangerous dogs (or "worrisome" dogs, if you will) should statistically be an even bigger problem in the UK because it's so darned crowded. Living conditions are far more congested than they are here in most of America.

Despite the fact no one alters their pets in the UK there is no "pet overpopulation" and I don't believe I spotted any mention of intact dogs as a factor in the increase in attacks. Hmmm....I guess only American canine reproductive organs are "dangerous".

Most cities do not have animal shelters and the biggest fines are for failure to pick up animal waste.

I went to the Bristol article and I liked this quote:

"Clarissa Baldwin, chief executive of Dogs Trust, believes the law should come down harder on the owners of dogs that display unwarranted aggression, whatever their breed.

She said: "Our experience shows that dog behaviour is affected more by their breeding, their upbringing, training and the actions of their owners than it is by genetics.""

Do tell. Perhaps they need to invest more money in animal control and less money in bullet-proof glass (but give Price Charles a sheet or two for his limo, please, since his security detail thinks it's okay to drive the heir to the throne into an angry mob of protesters).

I was in the UK about eight years ago and went to the bank with a relative. He has some pulmonary problems so he has a handicapped tag, and the handicapped parking spots were behind the bank in an alley. I stayed in the vehicle - if you've never experienced banks in the UK, they are a pain in the (backside). In the meantime a young man drove up in some sort of delivery truck - he stopped in the alley behind the bank and got what was clearly a pit bull out of the truck to exercise it. After he was finished he spotted me sitting in the vehicle and seemed surprised - he shuttled the dog back into the truck. Little did he know I'd be the last person on the planet that would turn him in to authorities for a pit bull, LOL.

Thanks again, Brent, for another intersting post.

[Rosemary]

One of the weirdnesses of the situation is that virtually all of the dogs (for example) featured on Bad Rap's website would probably be classified as Staffordshires or Staffordshire crosses and be perfectly OK legally.

[Gitaosteoteot]

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