Kennel Club Welcomes EFRA Committee Report on Effective Dog Control Regulation

The Kennel Club has welcomed the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Committee’s report on the Draft Dangerous Dogs (Amendment) Bill, which was published today (16 May).

The report highlights many of the recommendations made by the Kennel Club to strengthen and improve current provisions to better protect the public and improve the welfare of dogs.

Launching the Committee’s pre-legislative scrutiny report on the Draft Dangerous Dogs (Amendment) Bill, the EFRA Committee endorsed draft laws to extend dangerous dogs offences to attacks on private property, but highlighted the need for the Government to bring in wider measures such as Dog Control Notices in order to break the cycle of bad behaviour and introduce preventative measures to better control dogs.

As well as submitting an official response to the EFRA Committee Inquiry, the Kennel Club recently met with DEFRA Minister, Lord de Mauley and his team to highlight its views on the draft Bill. These have since been taken into consideration and reflected in the revised draft Bill, published last week.

Caroline Kisko, Kennel Club Secretary, said: “The EFRA Committee has highlighted the need for dog owners to be protected from prosecution should a dog bite a trespasser in the home, whether or not the dog’s owner or their family are present at the time of the incident. The Kennel Club wholeheartedly agrees with this principle and has spoken with politicians, civil servants and Lord de Mauley at length on this issue. The Minister recognised the need for responsible dog owners to be assured that they can leave their dog at home without fear of committing an offence should their dog bite an intruder, and has since amended the Bill to reflect this.”

Further to this however, the Kennel Club fully supports the EFRA Committee’s recommendation for government to go further in their exemptions to include buildings such as garages, sheds and outbuildings within the definition of a dwelling. This would include them in the areas a dog owner would be exempt from prosecution should a dog bite a trespasser in such places. The Kennel Club feels this is an important and logical amendment and will be lobbying to have this included in the future wording of the Bill.

Other areas of focus within the report which are supported by the Kennel Club include the need for the courts to take mitigating factors fully into account, such as signage and the provision of warnings of a dog’s presence, as well as the behaviour of the trespasser towards the dog, when considering legal action against owners of dogs which bite trespassers on private land such as a garden. However, the Kennel Club would prefer a similar exemption in such cases to that of a trespasser inside the home.

The report’s recommendation to introduce Dog Control Notices is a view shared by the Kennel Club, although the Club is continuing to work closely with the Home Office and DEFRA to include similar provisions in the accompanying Guidance for enforcers of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Bill.

It was also stated that a consolidated dog control Act should be the Government’s top priority in order to reduce the number of overlapping provisions and provide enforcement bodies with clearer powers; together with a recommendation for DEFRA to remove from its guidance the qualification that local authorities must only provide an out-of-hours dog warden service ‘where practicable’.

Caroline Kisko added “The EFRA Committee’s report has made several valid recommendations and points for consideration which the Kennel Club also shares. The Government’s intentions with regards to improved regulation on dog control are a definite step in the right direction; however, after years of bad laws, we are only too aware of the complexity of the issue and the difficulty there is in regulating it to curb irresponsible dog ownership whilst not penalising the responsible majority. We will continue to work closely with the Home Office and DEFRA and share our expertise to strike the right balance and get the best outcome for all.”

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Posted by chesliepickett on May 16 2013. Filed under World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.