CWU responds to Government's consultation on New Dangerous Dogs Law for England and Wales
The union has submitted a detailed response to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) public consultation on new dangerous dogs laws.
The consultation came about as a result of the union's Bite-Back campaign, a breakthrough having been made following a meeting between the then Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, and CWU's National Health and Safety Officer, Dave Joyce, Angela Smith, MP, Dogs Trust and RSPCA.
Following the election, Dave Joyce has already sought and secured commitments from the new Prime Minister, David Cameron, and his deputy, Nick Clegg, on changing the law. However, Dave explained, "There's still a lot of work to be done yet."
100,000 CWU members - including 70,000 Royal Mail and Parcelforce Worldwide delivery workers and 30,000 BT Engineers are vulnerable and exposed to the risk of dog attacks on a daily basis. Whilst at work, 5000 - 6000 Postal workers and 300 - 400 BT workers are attacked by dogs every year.
The CWU 'Bite-Back' campaign, led by Dave Joyce, has highlighted the fact that the current dangerous dog legislation does not adequately protects the postal workers or the public, and law changes are needed.
Since the general election and change of government the Health, Safety and Environment Department has been continuing efforts via a number of channels to ensure the present government carries forward plans to significantly amend the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 and that the issue remaind on the priority list as the country focuses on the economy.
Dave Joyce said, "The
law on dangerous Dogs as it currently stands, and its enforcement
by the police, dog wardens and the courts, has proved to be totally
ineffective in protecting CWU members, with dog attack numbers
having risen and injuries worsened. The CWU welcomes the
Government's proposals to tackle the issue of dangerous dogs,
by changing the Dangerous Dogs Law in England and Wales and so
follow the law changes being introduced in Scotland and Northern
Ireland. It's been apparent for years that the existing
Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 doesn't work effectively in controlling
dangerous dogs and dealing irresponsible owners and leaves many
victims with no remedy in criminal law because it doesn't apply
on private land and 70% of attacks on CWU members occur on private
land and premises and that's got to change,"
The CWU Bite-Back campaign has made significant progress since its launch. The Scottish Parliament passed a new Dog Control Act earlier this year - the Control of Dogs (Scotland) Act - which is due to come into force at the end of February 2011. The Northern Ireland Assembly have introduced a new bill, the Dogs (Amendment) Bill which should also soon become an Act, and will come into force in mid-2011.
Dave added "The CWU believes that changes to the current legislation are necessary and long overdue. The changes should enable all enforcement agencies to target the worst offenders and the most aggressive dogs. It is important to bear in mind that the vast majority of dog owners are law abiding and they should not be affected by a tightening of the law."
With an estimated 10 million dogs in the UK, there is an absolute and urgent need for effective dangerous dogs legislation to replace the current laws which are both complex, ineffective, outdated, unworkable and fail to deal with bad owners.
The key message is that any dog can show aggression, particularly if it is not owned responsibly, or handled and trained properly. Therefore legislation that provides the tools to target irresponsible, careless and reckless ownership, both before an animal becomes a serious problem with new preventative measures as well as after an attack, are very welcome.
Dave said, "The legislation needs to modernise the existing "piecemeal" rules and regulations on dogs and the law needs to provide local authority dog wardens and the police with the legislative tools to deal with the growing problem of out-of-control dogs. For the first-time attacks by dangerous dogs in private places will become a criminal offence."
The CWU is calling on the Government to urgently push ahead with the introduction of new dangerous dogs legislation for England and Wales, following the currently unacceptable number of dog attacks of postal workers, totalling around 6000 every year, where in 70% of them, the police are unable to prosecute under the current Dangerous Dogs Act because of the serious limitations of the Act which does not apply on private property. The existing laws are ineffective and do not deal with the growing dangerous dogs problem of a significant number of aggressive dogs and irresponsible owners who need to be dealt with. The lack of protection for postal workers against attacks on private property where a dog is permitted to be is a "gaping hole" in the Dangerous Dogs Act.
CWU Bite-Back Campaign
The CWU calls upon the Government to revise and consolidate existing dangerous dogs laws, introducing changes that will:
- Extend the criminal law to include private property.
- Introduce Dog Control Notices (DCNs).
- Introduce compulsory third-party insurance cover.
- Introduce a 'No fault Personal Injury Compensation Scheme' for cases of uninsured and untraced owners.
- Repeal 'Breed Specific Legislation' (BSL) and move over to "Deed not the Breed" legislation.
- Introduce compulsory microchipping and dog licenses.
- Introduce tougher punishments and increased court penalties.
- Ensure effective enforcement by the police powers and dog wardens.
- Introduce new more wide ranging powers of seizure to the police.
