Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has plans to bring forward legislative proposals on preventing dogs from being released from a leash or leader in public spaces and neighbourhoods, beyond the powers already in place for decisions to be made at local authority level.

Under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 it is an offence to allow a dog to be dangerously out of control in any place. For the purposes of the 1991 Act, this includes any occasion on which there are grounds for reasonable apprehension that a dog will injure someone, whether or not it actually does so.

Defra’s statutory Code of Practice for the Welfare of Dogs asks owners to ensure that they prevent their dogs from chasing or attacking any other animals, including livestock and horses; for example, through use of a lead or avoidance of such situations.

The Government takes the issue of livestock worrying very seriously, recognising the distress this can cause farmers and animals, as well as the financial implications. We are currently engaging closely with key stakeholders to improve our understanding of the scale of the issue and the views of both livestock keepers and dog owners.