Breed specific legislation

This subject guarantees that I run and drag my soap box out

This is the biggest topic of legal debate in the dog world at the moment and it is a debate that started back in 1991 with the introduction of the Dangerous Dog Act 1991 which bans the ownership, breeding, sale and exchange, and advertising for sale of the following ‘types’ of fighting dogs:
· pit bull terriers
· the Japanese Tosa
· the Dogo Argentino
· the Fila Brasileiro
The Act deliberately uses the word ‘type’ as the law does not only apply to ‘pure’ breeds. Types are defined by the physical and behavioral characteristics of the prohibited dog. The maximum penalty for the illegal possession of a prohibited dog is a fine of £5000 and/or a six months imprisonment.

This Act was the government’s response to a number of dog attacks in the early 1990’s to diminish the number of dog attacks on people however this law fails abysmally. Why? Because the law does not address the real issue...dog aggression and where it comes from and until it does dog attacks and deaths will continue. The fact it is that dog aggression is not breed specific any dog can attack so are we going to keep banning breeds until we drive the dog in extinction or are we going to get real?

At the time of a dog attack especially if it has resulted in a death it is easy to blame the dog and persecute a breed what we should be doing is addressing the real issue where was the dog’s owner and why was such a tragedy allowed to happen? If a car is driven dangerously and results in a death do the we blame the car of cause we don’t, we blame the person in control of the car.


Dog attacks happen for one reason only a lack of responsibility on the part of the dog’s owner.
Over the years dogs have been breed for all number of purposes and yes some have been bred to fight however most aggressive dogs are the result of either being trained and encouraged to be aggressive by their irresponsible idiot owners or as the result of dog owners who fail to provide the correct environment and training to produce a happy and emotionally balanced dog.

I have worked with hundreds of dog owners over the years who have called upon my services because they have identified an aggression issue in their dogs and they want to resolve the behavior and they have worked hard to do so. The one thing they have all had in common a deep sense of responsibility and not one of them has ever allowed their dog into a position where they could be a threat to public safety.

The Dangerous Dogs Act is a joke it has resulted in an influx of staffordshire bull terriers ending up in rescue centres, well behaved and friendly dogs being seized by the police, councils around the country introducing breed specific banning in council properties. Dogs being banned from the beach and parks and sports fields and why? because the government introduced a law that does not get to the root of the problem .........irresponsible dog owners.

Earlier this year the Media was full of the tragic death of a baby boy by his grandmothers Staffordshire Bull Terrier and Jack Russell. Dogs that according to the neighbours were very friendly. This was a tragedy that could easily have been avoided where was the grandmother? Why were the dogs allowed unsupervised access to the baby? Had the dogs been prepared for the arrival of the baby? Why is it that the grandmother did not face charges over the death of her grandson?

The Dangerous dogs act 1991 should be over turned and in its place needs to be a law that punishes those truly responsible for dog attacks the dogs owners. The punishment should fit the crime the dog pays with its life what should the owner pay with?

A new law should seriously punish those owners whose dogs viciously attack with fines and imprisonment. It should also have provision to deal with owners who are reported to have a dangerous dog. By that I do not mean run in and seize the animal (if it has not attacked), but there should be mandatory training for those owners to either resolve the aggression issue or ensure the owners are fully aware of how to control an aggressive dog. The list of what could be done is not endless and would not cost the earth and surely a new law that saves one child from dying a horrific and painful death is a worth while law.