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Posted: 24th April 2013

Warnings over dangerous dogs bill
Amendment bill said to be 'hastily drafted'

The Dogs Trust has voiced concerns over the government's proposed Dangerous Dogs (Amendment) Bill, judging it to be "hastily drafted" and "extremely confusing".

The charity fears the new bill could end up criminalising responsible dog owners, and will be giving evidence to the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee (EFRACom) enquiry on 24 April.

EFRACom criticised the government's inaction on aspects of dog control and welfare back in February, and submitted a report recommending methods of addressing these issues.

The Dangerous Dogs (Amendment) Bill proposes to make it a criminal offence to allow a dog to be dangerously out of control in all places, including private property.

According to a letter sent to EFRACom chairperson Anne McIntosh on 9 April, by Lord de Mauley, parliamentary under secretary, the bill would ensure the law does not protect trespassers. The proposal would also clarify the law, to explicitly state that it is an offence for assistance dogs to be attacked.

The Dogs Trust, however, is concerned that the proposed bill does exempt owners from prosecution if they were not present when their dog attacked a trespasser. Therefore responsible owners and dogs are not protected by the law if a burglar is attacked while entering a home when the owner is absent.

Whilst the charity supports proposals to penalise owners who allow dogs to attack lawful visitors to their home, CEO Clarissa Baldwin OBE says: "If someone is on private property unlawfully then it is absolutely ridiculous that an owner could be prosecuted if their dog injures or attacks that person because the owner isn’t at home.”

She added: "We are concerned that if these new proposals are not properly considered, we could end up with another ineffective piece of legislation which doesn’t provide adequate safeguards for responsible owners."

The charity also has concerns about the government's response to the EFRACom report, which it criticised as "piecemeal" and "discouraging" after it was published on 17 April. These concerns will also be voiced today at the EFRACom enquiry.



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