Barking Blondes: Is a life sentence the answer to dangerous dogs?
This week dogs hit the news again as the government announced that it’s considering tougher punishment for owners of dangerous dogs including life sentences if an animal kills someone in England and Wales.
At the moment the maximum penalty is two years in prison if your dog fatally attacks a human being. Many say a ‘life sentence’ penalty won’t do much to reduce the thousands of dog bite incidents a year or even prevent another fatal dog attack on a human being. It’s a bit like shutting the gate after the horse has bolted. Could it be another knee-jerk legislation that isn’t looking at the whole picture?
Would we expect the parents of an underage teenager that’s stabbed another person to be sent to jail for their child’s crime? In many ways they could also be considered as irresponsible for not ‘bringing up’ their child correctly, similar to a dog owner with an ‘Asbo’ dog. The difference being that in law a dog is considered “chattel” or a possession, like a car.
Currently the law only steps in when a dog bites or injures a human and is not concerned when a dog bites another dog. Arguably this is one of the many flaws in the DDA, often described as a “dog’s dinner” of legislation. It was introduced as a knee-jerk reaction to dog attacks in 1991. So far, any new proposed changes do not consider dog-on-dog attacks as being criminal. In fact there is little structure in place to even report such an ‘offence’ to the police, local councils or dog wardens. All are either over stretched by this growing problem, or feigning any responsibility.
Dog trainer Louise Glazebrook was on our radio show this week debating this highly emotive topic.
“What I do not know or understand is who the authorities are talking to about these issues,” she said, “Because it certainly isn’t people like me – dog behaviourists and trainers who are working day-in-day-out with every single dog-owning demographic in this city. From Travellers to bankers, youth offenders to the famous, rich to poor, people in prisons, on estates and in penthouses, I see it all and I would happily sit down and explain just exactly what is going on with dogs in the UK.”
Interestingly in 1991 there were 991 dog bite incidents reported, compared to over 6,500 incidents last year. Is this because dog ownership has increased disproportionally in recent years from approx. four million in 2004 to 10 million in 2012?
Biting and attacking are symptoms of a bigger holistic picture. Could it be that we’re choosing the wrong dogs for our lifestyles? Or is it that the commitment to owning a dog isn’t what it used to be? Or maybe its simply too easy to own a dog? Can dog breeders be blamed for indiscriminate breeding for money?
The majority of dog owners are committed to training and socialising their dog and being a ‘responsible owner, but there’s a minority that are not. Or worse those that take on a dog for wrong reasons, as accessories or status symbols.
Proposals under the Control of Dogs Bill offered in England as a replacement to the DDA would allow local councils to enforce dog control notices (DCN) at the first sign of trouble before a dog becomes a danger to other dogs, people and itself. A DCN would order owners to leash or muzzle their dogs and to take training courses.
In April 2016 microchipping becomes mandatory in England in an attempt to make dog ownership more accountable. However given the cuts in public spending, its questionable whether this will make much difference.
‘Barking Blondes’ by Anna Webb & Jo Good, published by Hamlyn, £12.99
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