‘Change these dog laws’
Time to ‘monitor who is allowed to buy a dog’ as woman, 64, mauled to death
THERE have been calls for laws to have stricter control on all dogs after a woman was mauled to death by two bullmastiffs.
Teresa McDonagh, 64, from Moycullen, Co. Galway, was savaged by two domestic dogs at a home in Galway on Sunday.
It is understood that she went to a house in Knockarasser at around lunchtime on Sunday to visit a relative.
However, when she arrived, there was nobody home. The house occupants didn’t arrive back until later in the afternoon.
Ms McDonagh leaves behind two sons, Brendan and Gerry. The family previously faced hardship in 2015 when Brendan, a jockey, lost his foot in a motorbike accident while on holiday in Thailand.
The two bullmastiffs are believed to have been put down.
Certified Dog Behaviour Consultant Nanci Creedon told the Irish Daily Mail that the Government should scrap current dogownership laws and put more effective legislation in place that monitors who is allowed to buy a dog. She said: ‘We have a restricted breed list, and it’s pointless.’
She added that there is no such thing as certain breeds being more likely to attack than others. ‘The problem with restricted breeding is that it makes you think that dogs who are not on the list are not dangerous, that a Golden Retriever is less dangerous than a German Shepherd,’ she said.
While dogs on the restricted breeding list must be accompanied by someone over 16, and must wear a muzzle and lead, Ms Creedon these rules do not apply if the dog is on private property.
After the attack, Niall Ó Tuathail, a Galway-based Social Democrats representative, demanded an urgent review of the law.
He said: ‘Our dog control laws are not working – in fact, the rate of hospitalisations from dog bites has been rising for the past few decades.
‘This unfortunately makes fatalities more and more likely.
‘The evidence says that you need to educate owners and place restrictions on any dog that shows signs of aggressive behaviour, rather than just controlling certain breeds and only in public places.’
Quoting from research by Veterinary Ireland, Mr Ó Tuathail said Ireland’s rates are high in a European context: ‘Ireland has almost four times the rate of dog bite hospitalisations compared to the Netherlands where they take this wider approach,’ he said.
‘Last year, Veterinary Ireland claimed dog control legislation needed updating.
‘NUIG dog behaviour expert Dr Páraic Ó Súilleabháin has provided a framework for strict regulations that would effectively control dogs showing early signs of aggressive behaviour without punishing owners of those dogs who are at no risk of aggression.’
‘The Minister for Local Government must now act, starting by meeting experts and reviewing the regulations so that incidents like the tragedy in Moycullen are less likely to happen in the future,’ he concluded.
Animal welfare charity ISPCA did not want to speculate on this individual case and did not issue a call for a review on legislation.
‘While some people are calling for stricter legislation on certain breeds, the ISPCA believes that current legislation is sufficient and there is no need for any change,’ said ISPCA chief executive officer Dr Andrew Kelly.
‘Need to educate owners’