MR2058- Animal Welfare Legislation
Dangerous Dogs
Introduction
In order to protect the public from the threat posed by out of control dogs, most countries have a ‘dangerous dogs law’. There is often a lot of controversy surrounding these laws, as people often disagree with the decided definition of ‘dangerous’. In the UK the law surrounding dangerous dogs introduced in 1991 is breed discriminatory, this leaves room for a lot of debate as to whether the law can be deemed to be; effective, fair, and efficient at reducing the problem of dog attacks (Schaffner, 2010). Hospital statistics show that dog-related injuries have actually risen by 63% between 1998 and 2008. This is a very significant increase, and leads to the question, why is the …show more content…
Hiding the dogs means they are not allowed out, and police often find the dogs living in appaulling conditions just to keep them a secret. One officer reported this, 'We've been in flats where one of the bedrooms is given over to the dogs to defecate in because they are not allowed out. We've found dogs living in cages in under-stair cupboards, or flats where there's hardly a stick of furniture and the floor is covered in newspaper, urine, faeces, and a cage in the corner containing a bitch and puppies’. Authorities struggle to monitor the welfare of the dogs, because often no one except the owner is aware that they exist (Rayner, 2010)(Harding, …show more content…
They target behaviour rather than breed, and will mark a dog down considering the severity of the offence. The dog is then classified, low level offences mean an owner must pay an annual premium for a licence for the dog, higher leads to muzzles and restraints, and in the most serious cases dogs can be destroyed. It has been reported that the public are more cooperative with this policy, and are much more likely to report dangerous dogs (Rayner,
Dangerous Dogs
Introduction
In order to protect the public from the threat posed by out of control dogs, most countries have a ‘dangerous dogs law’. There is often a lot of controversy surrounding these laws, as people often disagree with the decided definition of ‘dangerous’. In the UK the law surrounding dangerous dogs introduced in 1991 is breed discriminatory, this leaves room for a lot of debate as to whether the law can be deemed to be; effective, fair, and efficient at reducing the problem of dog attacks (Schaffner, 2010). Hospital statistics show that dog-related injuries have actually risen by 63% between 1998 and 2008. This is a very significant increase, and leads to the question, why is the …show more content…
Hiding the dogs means they are not allowed out, and police often find the dogs living in appaulling conditions just to keep them a secret. One officer reported this, 'We've been in flats where one of the bedrooms is given over to the dogs to defecate in because they are not allowed out. We've found dogs living in cages in under-stair cupboards, or flats where there's hardly a stick of furniture and the floor is covered in newspaper, urine, faeces, and a cage in the corner containing a bitch and puppies’. Authorities struggle to monitor the welfare of the dogs, because often no one except the owner is aware that they exist (Rayner, 2010)(Harding, …show more content…
They target behaviour rather than breed, and will mark a dog down considering the severity of the offence. The dog is then classified, low level offences mean an owner must pay an annual premium for a licence for the dog, higher leads to muzzles and restraints, and in the most serious cases dogs can be destroyed. It has been reported that the public are more cooperative with this policy, and are much more likely to report dangerous dogs (Rayner,