XL Bully assaults coupled with hundreds of accidents attributable to different breeds have led to requires the reform of the Dangerous Dogs Act with one power seeing a 51 per cent enhance in stories
DOG assaults rocketed 21% final 12 months, figures have revealed, with police saying Covid lockdowns are partly in charge.
Freedom of Information requests confirmed police forces in England and Wales recorded 30,539 offences of a canine injuring a person or information canine in 2023. That was up from 25,291 in 2022.
Devon and Cornwall Police handled the largest enhance in assaults, up 51% from 662 in 2022 to 1,002 in 2023. The power mentioned a lot of components contributed, together with a rise in reporting and the way offences are recorded.
And the National Police Chiefs’ Council mentioned of canine assaults: “We believe some of this could be attributed to dogs purchased during lockdown, who missed out on key socialisation and have then become too difficult to handle in maturity.” The figures, from BBC Freedom of Information requests, are launched after the Mirror campaigned for a reform of the Dangerous Dogs Act.
Since February 1 this 12 months, it has been a prison offence to personal an unregistered XL Bully. Emma Whitfield, whose son was killed in a horror XL Bully attack, joined our campaign. But she says a ban will not be sufficient to cease the deaths. The 33-year-old, who misplaced her son Jack Lis, 10, in November 2021, says the Government should now go after yard breeders – who’ve “blood on their hands,” she says.
Jack was set upon by a muscle-bound animal known as Beast in Caerphilly, South Wales. He died regardless of a police officer’s makes an attempt to pull him to security. The grandma of one other boy who misplaced his life mentioned house owners of dogs that kill ought to face manslaughter costs.
Pauline Elford’s nine-year-old grandson Frankie MacRitchie died in 2019. Mrs Elford mentioned Frankie had been left alone with the seven-stone American bull terrier cross in a caravan in Cornwall. She mentioned no one heard Frankie’s screams, including: “When I entered the caravan, I didn’t even recognise my own grandson.”
Under the Dangerous Dogs Act, house owners may be sentenced to 14 years and/or banned from possession. Their dogs may be put down.
A spokesman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs mentioned: “Dog attacks can have tragic consequences, which is why it is a criminal offence to allow any dog to be dangerously out of control. “Buyers should ensure that the dog they buy is suitable for their home”
