Dangerous Dogs

(asked on 26th March 2019) - View Source

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will ensure that dog attacks on cats are recorded by police forces when he meets with the National Police Chiefs’ Council to discuss a new approach to tackling dog attacks.


Answered by
David Rutley Portrait
David Rutley
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
This question was answered on 2nd April 2019

Defra works closely with the National Police Chief’s Council and we will continue to discuss the ways in which dog attacks are recorded, including how attacks on other animals including cats are recorded.

In November 2018 Defra commissioned research in collaboration with Middlesex University to look at responsible ownership of dogs. The research will consider different approaches and the effectiveness of current dog control measures, including the use of Community Protection Notices (CPNs), the data recorded in relation to dog attacks and make recommendations. The research will also seek to identify and examine the factors and situations that may cause dog attacks and how to promote responsible dog ownership.

We expect to have an interim report at the beginning of September 2019 with a final report at the end of the year. We will consider the research findings before taking any decisions in relation to dog control measures.

The detail on what CPNs were used for is not collected centrally but research[1] has shown that in a sample of 73 local authorities, the single biggest category for issuing a CPN (29%) to young persons was for animal related purposes and of those, most were dog related.

[1] Anti-social Behaviour Powers and Young Adults – The Data, Helen Mills and Matt Ford, Centre for Crime and Justice Studies, July 2018 https://www.crimeandjustice.org.uk/sites/crimeandjustice.org.uk/files/YASE%20briefing%201%2017-07-2018.pdf

Reticulating Splines