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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of breed specific legislation in reducing the number of dog attacks.

The Government considers that the general prohibition on certain types of dog bred for fighting, or that share the characteristics of dogs bred for fighting, should remain in place. Evidence shows that pitbull type dogs are responsible for a disproportionate number of attacks on people and fatalities, and should not be kept without individual dogs being subject to a public safety test including that the owner is a fit and proper person. We have not seen any evidence that shows removing the general prohibition would reduce the number of dog attacks.