New Bill could replace
Dangerous Dogs Act

THE Kennel Club has welcomed a Bill tabled in December in the House of Lords by Liberal Democrat Peer, Lord Redesdale, which would see the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 and Dogs Act 1871 repealed.

The Kennel Club, which runs the secretariat for the Dangerous Dogs Act Study Group (DDASG), has long been calling on the Government to repeal the current legislation and believes that it is the breed specific nature of current legislation that has caused it to fail. Focusing on individual breeds has not prevented a large number of dog attacks. Lord Redesdale’s Dog Control Act will do far more to protect the public, responsible owners and their dogs.

If passed the Bill will introduce three major changes to current dangerous dogs legislation:

• Instead of banning specific breeds of dog, the dog’s behaviour – as well as its treatment by its owner – will be used to determine if it is a risk to public safety.
• Instead of applying only to attacks that take place in public, the Bill will also make attacks on private property a criminal offence.
• It would be an offence to breed dogs for fighting or to keep a dog that has been used for fighting.

Caroline Kisko, Kennel Club spokesperson, said: “The Kennel Club has been working with Lord Redesdale and a number of other organisations to provide assistance and advice in drafting his Bill. The current legislation is Draconian and severely flawed and does little to protect the public. Lord Redesdale’s proposals are measured and would do what the Dangerous Dogs Act failed to achieve. Lord Redesdale claimed the Dangerous Dogs Act is a bad piece of legislation that places the responsibility on dogs. This Bill puts the responsibility on the owners themselves. This should address the problem on our streets and go some way in combating the growing culture of using dogs as weapons.”

Edward Lister, Council Leader of Wandsworth Borough Council (a member of the DDASG) said: “The head of our dog unit has been working hard with the other members of the Dangerous Dogs Act Study Group to think through the best way to enable police and local councils to tackle this problem. We can no longer just allow people to own these dogs and let them act in an aggressive way. Something has to be done. We believe the measures outlined in this Bill are the best way forward. Together with our new dog microchipping scheme, they would go a long way towards tackling this problem.”