Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Too many children have died already
Urgent calls for Dangerous Dogs Act to be modernised
MINISTERS face mounting pressure to overhaul the Dangerous Dogs Act after the latest child death.
Three-year-old Daniel Twigg was mauled at home on Sunday afternoon and died a short time later.
His death has prompted fresh calls to update the 1991 Act and the Mirror is campaigning for cross breeds to be added to the list of banned animals.
Labour MP Rosie Duffield, vicechair of the All-party Parliamentary Dog Advisory Welfare Group, said: “Too many children have died already. We can’t go on like this.”
Yesterday we published pictures of 10 youngsters who had been mauled to death.
A 48-year-old man was arrested under the Act after the most recent tragedy in Rochdale,
Greater Manchester. The city’s police said it was aware of a number of attacks involving different breeds before Daniel’s death and referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.
Rochdale MP Sir Tony Lloyd campaigned for tougher laws on dangerous dogs when he was Greater Manchester police and crime commissioner from 2012 to 2017.
MPS will debate overhauling the Dangerous Dogs Act to strip out references to four named breeds next month.
More than 108,000 people have signed a petition to repeal the 1993 legislation that bans the keeping of pit bull terriers, Japanese tosa, dogo Argentino and fila Brasileiro.
Campaigners say the law is unfair as other breeds can be dangerous and a dog’s behaviour depends on its owner and how it is treated.
The petition said a study by Middlesex University has cast doubt on one of the core assumptions of the Dangerous Dogs Act - that certain breeds of dogs are inherently more dangerous.
In its response, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: “Simply repealing the breed-specific provisions in dangerous dog legislation with no other changes would increase the risks to public safety, which the Government is unwilling to do.”
The debate will be on June 6.
He said: “We do need tougher penalties for letting threatening dogs roam and we’ve got to make sure owners know they’re liable.” He pledged to lobby ministers on a change in law. He said: “We need to look at whether the list of breeds is up to date.” Ms Duffield added: “This legislation is more than 30 years old. The fact so many children have been killed shows it isn’t working.”
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs published a study with Middlesex University to “look at responsible ownership across all breeds” last December. It said it was working with police and local authorities to “consider recommendations”. A spokeswoman added: “This was a tragic incident and we extend our deepest sympathies to Daniel’s family.”