DOG WARDENS CALL FOR NATIONAL TASK FORCE TO DEAL WITH DANGEROUS DOG OWNERS

How many more adults and children have to suffer appalling injuries or even death due to irresponsible dog ownership before the government of the day will put their heads above the parapet and do something about those people who have an unregistered prohibited breed?.

The government will tell us that there is legislation in place to deal with dangerous dogs as well as prohibited breeds, yes there is but unfortunately there are not enough resources available to the enforcers to carry out enforcement.

The task of identifying a dog as an American Pit Bull Terrier type is a complicated process but at least the actual examination of a suspect dog and the circumstances that such a dog has come to the attention of the police are taken into consideration.

There are perfectly law abiding citizens who purchase a puppy and are told that the dog is a certain breed when they buy it who come to the attention of the police and they are dealt with sympathetically which is only right.. On the other hand there are irresponsible persons from a wide cross section of society who knowingly have possession of a dog that they know is prohibited in the United Kingdom. These people are usually aware that they have an illegal dog so they should face the consequences of breaking the law of the land.

The government needs to look at additional funding to give the police and Local Authorities more resources to deal with those dog owners who knowingly have an unregistered dog and to further target breeders of prohibited breeds. Whilst the answer will be there is already appropriate legislation in place to deal with prohibited breeds, there needs to be a publicity campaign from the Home Office raising awareness of prohibited breeds and the dangers from such dogs in the hands of irresponsible owners to protect public safety.

The NDWA calls for a nationwide task force comprising of enforcers to address the issue of the irresponsible ownership of prohibited breed types. Such a task force can coordinate an appropriate response through a combination of education and enforcement.

Legislation will not prevent another attack but a combination of education and enforcement may just reduce the frequency of such attacks.