TIME FOR ACTION ON DANGEROUS DOGS
So many people got dogs during the pandemic, it’s unsurprising that there has been a rise in the number of attacks from out-of-control pets. New figures show there has been a 26% rise since 2020, with the number of dogs in the UK having risen by around two million to 12 million.
The tragic death of Ann Dunn, mauled in Liverpool by a pack of American bulldogs earlier this month, is the ninth in 2022, making it the deadliest year on record.
Now the families of victims are backing a campaign to overhaul the Dangerous Dogs Act and insist that owners have special licences for certain breeds, as they do in France. It also calls for potentially dangerous dogs to have behaviour assessments and for their owners to attend training courses.
Some breeds are simply a threat to all of us, including responsible dog owners. Five of the nine fatal attacks so far this year were carried out by American bulldogs, a breed which, given that fact, should arguably be banned altogether.
I am a dog-lover, I grew up with a cocker spaniel and collie/labrador cross which I loved dearly, but having had several American bully dogs living in the neighbourhood when my children were little, I know first-hand how terrifying they can be.
Joanne Robinson, who died after an attack by her two American bulldogs in South
Yorkshire this summer, described them as ‘gentle giants’. She was killed when one of her much-loved pets seized her by the throat and refused to let go.
The RSPCA has described the new statistics, which showed attacks have risen to nearly 10,000 between January and July this year, from 7,790 in 2020, as ‘really shocking’.
Agonisingly, of the nine who lost their lives in the UK (so far) this year, two were toddlers and two were babies.
It’s time to try and stop people being killed by dangerous dogs.