Dangerous Dogs

(asked on 15th October 2021) - View Source

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to identify dog owners with control challenges; and what early interventions his Department is encouraging local authorities and Police forces to take to tackle that matter.


Answered by
Victoria Prentis Portrait
Victoria Prentis
Attorney General
This question was answered on 25th October 2021

The Government takes the issue of dog attacks extremely seriously and is determined to crack down on irresponsible dog ownership.

Under section 3 of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, it is an offence to allow a dog to be dangerously out of control in any place. Section 2 of the Dogs Act 1871 also allows for a complaint to be made to a magistrates' court by any individual or authority that a dog is "dangerous and not kept under proper control". Additionally, the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 includes specific measures to enable the police and local authorities to tackle irresponsible dog ownership before a dog attack occurs. The main tool to tackle irresponsible dog ownership is the Community Protection Notice (CPN). These notices can be issued by local authority officers or the police on dog owners, or anyone temporarily in charge of the dog at the time, whose dogs are behaving in an unruly way. To breach a CPN is a criminal offence and could lead to a significant penalty. To that end we are encouraging police forces across the country to use these tools.

Defra has also commissioned research in collaboration with Middlesex University into ways to reduce dog attacks and promote responsible ownership amongst dog owners. The research considers different approaches and the effectiveness of current dog control measures. The report, which will be published shortly, identifies the police Local Environmental Awareness on Dogs (LEAD) initiative as a model of preventative best practice for low level dog control issues and early intervention. The Government supports these local preventative approaches to encourage responsible ownership of all breeds of dog. Defra is giving careful consideration to the report and its recommendations, which will provide the basis for potential further reform in this area.

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