Dog owners who let their pet kill another dog might be imprisoned for the very first time after a Government minister backed strategies to condition animal security laws.
Lord Benyon has actually provided his assistance in concept to propositions from Anna Firth, a Tory MP, to make owners criminally liable for deadly dog-on-dog attacks.
Under the legal modification, an individual would need to take “all reasonable steps” to guarantee their animal does not eliminate another dog.
If they permit a deadly attack to take place, Ms Firth is requiring them to confront 6 months in jail.
Lord Benyon, the animal well-being minister, said the Department for Environment and Rural Affairs would back the MP’s strategies to criminalise deadly dog-on-dog attacks, based on checks by authorities and cross-government approval.
Ms Firth, whose group has actually been dealing with the propositions for more than a year, said it was “really exciting” to get Government assistance.
She worried that the objective of the modification is to encourage responsible ownership, instead of “demonising” the dogs themselves.
As it stands, there is no legislation particularly criminalising dog-on-dog attacks. However it is an offense for owners to permit their dog to be dangerously out of control.
This is typically considered to be when there is “reasonable apprehension” that the animal will hurt an individual or support dog, without any particular safeguards for regular family pets.
Up to 6 months in jail
Ms Firth would look for to tighten up the law by making it an offense to permit any dog-on-dog attacks that lead to an animal’s death.
The criminal offense would be punishable by as much as 6 months in jail, or a fine, or both.
Introducing her Animal Welfare (Responsibility for Dog Attacks) Bill to the Commons on Tuesday, Ms Firth alerted that the issue has “skyrocketed” in recent years, with the minimal available information recommending deadly events skyrocketed in between 2016 and 2021.
She said: “Only 14 police forces currently record a dog-on-dog attack as a separate incident. However, of that 14, in 2016, there were 1,700 dog-on-dog attacks reported and recorded.
“Since lockdown, with everyone buying their Covid-19 pandemic puppies, the numbers have skyrocketed. In 2021, the same 14 police forces recorded 11,559 dog-on-dog attacks, a 700 per cent increase.”
Lord Benyon said that his department would help get Ms Firth’s Bill through Parliament, offered it was not discovered to have any unexpected repercussions. The mechanics of how this would be accomplished are still being gone over.
Lord Benyon informed the Telegraph: “We are very supportive of what she’s trying to do. We’d have to look in more detail at the Bill to see whether there were any wider implications, but I think that we’re very sympathetic to people who’ve lost dogs because somebody has not had proper control over their dog.”
He said a Private Member’s Bill is the “classic territory to take this forward”, including: “Provided that there are no wider implications that our civil servants and legal advisers can’t identify, there’s nothing to stop the Government supporting this as it goes through the process.”
In Sir David Amess’ steps
Mark Spencer, the environment minister, likewise dedicated on Thursday to taking a seat with Ms Firth to “discuss how we can assist” with the Bill moving forward.
Lord Benyon included that it was “wonderful” that the MP for Southend West was following in the steps of her predecessor, Sir David Amess, a tireless campaigner for animal welfare who was killed in his constituency in 2021.
“There is huge understanding amongst me and my colleagues about the misery that is caused when a dog is torn apart in front of you,” he said.
“The benefits that any pet can bring to somebody, particularly if they lead a solitary life, is immense. And the loss of it can have a huge effect way beyond just losing a pet.
“And so making sure that we have sensible laws that protect people and encourage those with a dog that might be aggressive in this way to manage it, whether they walk it, when they walk it, how they walk it, and recognising that the law will come down on them if they allow their dog to behave in this way.”
Ms Firth began marketing for the legal modification, which she has actually branded “Emilie’s law”, after a dog coming from among her constituents, Michael Joannou, passed away from a dreadful attack in a regional park.
The MP said Mr Joannou concerned her “incredibly distressed” and “inconsolable” after Emilie, a eight-year-old bichon frise, was “brutally torn apart” by another dog.
Mr Joannou had actually been looking after Emilie after her owner, his previous sweetheart, dropped dead from epilepsy.
He said the legal modification would be justice for the dynamic, healthy dog who was “cut down in the prime of her life”.
“I really am so impressed with how far this has gone even though it relates to a tragedy,” he informed the Telegraph.
“I’m totally overwhelmed by it all. I’m going to go as far as they go and not give up. I remember hearing from somewhere that the greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be measured by the way it treats its animals. Those sort of things are things we should be aware of as the very modern, progressive country that we are.”
