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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of penalties in place for dog-on-dog attacks involving service dogs.

It is an offence under section 3 of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 to allow a dog to attack an assistance dog. The maximum penalty for such an offence is three years imprisonment or an unlimited fine, or both.

Defra is working with the police, local authorities and animal welfare groups to explore measures to reduce dog attacks and promote responsible dog ownership. We have reconvened the Responsible Dog Ownership taskforce and look forward to receiving their findings and recommendations in due course.