Britain eyes new clampdown on dangerous dogs at home

LONDON – Britain’s Home Secretary announced new plans yesterday to clamp down on dangerous dogs, including forcing owners to insure themselves against the risk of their pet attacking someone.

The proposals aim to tackle the growing problem of vicious dogs being bred as weapons, and follow high-profile cases in which dogs have attacked and killed young children while out of control at home.
The new measures - announced just weeks before a general election – would make it a crime for a dog to be “dangerously out of control” including in a private home. Currently it is only an offence in a public place.
“Britain is a nation of animal lovers, but people have a fundamental right to feel safe on the streets and in their homes,” said Home Secretary Alan Johnson.
“The vast majority of dog owners are responsible, but there is no doubt that some people breed and keep dogs for the sole purpose of intimidating others, in a sense using dogs as a weapon.
“It is this sort of behaviour that we will not tolerate; it is this sort of behaviour that we are determined to stop.”
The proposals, aimed at beefing up the 1991 Dangerous Dogs Act, would also include a canine version of an Anti-Social Behaviour Order (Asbo), typically imposed on young delinquents to stop threatening behaviour.
The new Dog Control Notices – dubbed “Dogbos” – would allow authorities to force owners to muzzle, leash or neuter their pets. Owners could also be forced to get their dogs microchipped.
In one of the most recent attacks, a four-year-old boy, John-Paul Massey, was killed by a family dog in Liverpool last November, while his grandmother was injured trying to protect him.
The Conservatives, who are battling to oust Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s Labour party in elections expected in May, poured scorn on the new proposals.
“All we’ve really had for the past decade under this government is a series of speeches and headline-grabbing announcements about the things they were going to do to tackle problems like dangerous dog offences,” said Chris Grayling, the party’s home affairs spokesman.
“But in the end nothing has ever happened. If Labour are re-elected in May all we’ll get is the same tired-out old approach and none of the changes the country really needs.”
– Nampa-AFP

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