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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many dogs have been entered on the Index of Exempted Dogs in each year since 2018 inclusive; and how many dogs on that index in each year since 2018 have been involved in a significant bite incident and fatality.

The table below indicates the number of dogs that were entered onto the Index of Exempted Dogs in each year since 2018 inclusive.

* As of 5 July 2022

No dog on the Index of Exempted Dogs has ever been involved in a fatality.

Information on biting incidents involving dogs is not held by Defra but may be held by individual police forces, local authorities and the NHS. Dogs on the Index of Exempted Dogs would have been assessed by the Court as having an acceptable temperament and whether the proposed owner is a fit and proper person and are required by law to be kept on a leash and to be muzzled in public. In light of these requirements, we would not expect that such dogs would be involved in any biting incidents involving the public.