WHO LET THE DOGS OUT?

Crystal Chesters gets on her soapbox about dog attacks

W ithin the space of ten minutes I spotted three dog owners in succession walking along the street with their pets off the lead – one with a Staffordshire bull terrier, another with two huskies and one with a German shepherd. And that was just a normal weekday morning in Edinburgh. As dog attacks continue to increase in Scotland, why is it still legal for dog owners to allow their animals to wander freely in public areas? According to NHS figures, the number of people admitted to A&E in Scotland because of dog bites rose 80% in ten years – there were 363 cases in 2005-2006 compared with 652 admissions in 2014-2015. I understand most responsible owners who walk their dogs off the lead believe their pet is of no danger to the public, and I’m sure most are right. But what about those owners who mistreat their dogs – intentionally or not – turning them into potentially lethal weapons? In January 2018, a nine-year-old girl was walking in Ayrshire when she was bitten on the leg by a dog whose owner was nowhere to be seen. She had to have surgery and will be forced to deal with the mental and physical scars for the rest of her life. In a similar case of owner negligence, a Dumfries man last year adopted a Staffordshire bull terrier cross from a family who were having problems with it and took it into a pharmacy just a few days later, where it bit two women. Following that attack, he had the audacity – or stupidity – to take it to a public park, where it attacked a police officer. The dog was put down and the owner jailed for six months, but the damage had already been done.

In another Scottish case, a couple were jailed last year and banned from keeping dogs for 20 years after their Akita – a large and famously aggressive Japanese breed – attacked two women in separate incidents one month apart. After the first attack, dog wardens had told them to keep the animal on a short leash, advice they ignored.

All three of these attacks have one common denominator – irresponsible owners getting away with terrorising the public because of lax laws.

Under the 1991 Dangerous Dogs Act, certain breeds, including the pit bull terrier, were banned, a prohibition which also includes cross-breeds. It is also a prosecutable offence to have a dog ‘out of control’ in public, which refers to a wide range of behaviours: the dog might simply be displaying aggressive behaviour in public, or it could bite your pet. Even having your dog on a lead doesn’t qualify as being in control if you’re not strong enough to stop the dog running off if it decides to. In theory, being the owner of a dangerously out of control dog is a serious crime that attracts an unlimited fine and/or a prison sentence of up to six months.

In 2014 the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act introduced dog control notices, meaning that owners of unruly dogs could, for example, be sent to dog training classes or told to repair their fence to ensure their dog can’t escape. But again, the escalating numbers of people who have been bitten show that if this is happening, it is not preventing genuine harm being caused to people.

The solution is to stop irresponsible people from having dogs in the first place. Unless specifically banned because of a previous, serious dog attack, anyone in this country can own a dog. Many owners cannot provide the nutrition, exercise, love and discipline their dog needs, but this goes unnoticed – until it’s too late.

Since 2016, it’s been the law to have a dog microchipped and while this makes it easier to punish irresponsible dog owners after the fact, it is of little use in preventing attacks. In the countries where they retain the dog licences which were once mandatory in Scotland – such as Ireland, the Isle of Man, Australia, Canada and most of the United States – dog attacks are not increasing, yet we scrapped dog licences in 1987. Why not bring them back?

I believe we need a strict dog licensing policy akin to our approach to shotguns which assesses how fit a person is to look after a dog before they are allowed to take it home. I also think all dogs in public areas should either be muzzled or kept on leads, with fines dealt out to those who break the law. Managed dog parks like those in the US would allow dogs to get the exercise and mental stimulation they need.

I understand that responsible dog owners might find this hard to swallow, but unfortunately, as with many laws, a one-size-fits-all approach is needed to prevent the irresponsible owners – who are in the minority – from continuing to endanger the public.

Crystal Chesters says a rising number of dog attacks means it’s time to reform the law on when and how dogs are restrained