New plans to tackle dangerous dogs, what do you think?

Plans to toughen existing laws to protect the public from dangerous dogs were unveiled today by Environment Secretary Hilary Benn and Home Secretary Alan Johnson.

The move comes in the wake of rising public concern that some irresponsible owners may be using dogs to intimidate communities or as weapons by gangs. 

In addition, the current Dangerous Dogs Act does not cover attacks on private property where a dog is permitted to be, leaving traumatised and vulnerable victims to seek recourse through the civil courts.

 The RSPCA saw a 12-fold increase in complaints about dog fights between 2004 and 2008 and in the last year, the police seized 900 dangerous dogs in London alone.

 The aim of the consultation launched today is to review and streamline current legislation to better protect the public; help enforcers tackle those who abuse the law; and stop the abuse suffered by dogs that end up in the wrong hands.

 The consultation looks at:

· Extending dangerous dogs laws to cover all places including private property;

· Giving police and councils more powers to tackle the problem of dangerous dogs by the introduction of Dog Control Notices;

· Considering removing exemption rules that allow some people to keep banned types of dogs or if exemptions are to remain ensuring that the system works more effectively;

· Introduction of compulsory microchipping for dogs so that dog owners can be more easily traced; and

· Introduction of compulsory third party insurance so that victims of dog attacks are financially recompensed.

Hilary Benn said:

“There is a lot of public concern about dog attacks, including the recent tragic deaths of young children, and about the rise in the number of so-called ‘status dogs’ used to intimidate or threaten people.”

 “This is a serious issue of public safety. The Government wants to hear what people think about the law as it stands and what more we might do to protect people from dangerous dogs.”

What do you think?

Should dangerous dogs just be banned? Have you seen any dangerous dogs in the Marlborough area? Do you think these laws are irrelevant to us- not many gangs in Marlborough!? Do you think making all dog owners chip their dogs is the many innocent being punished for the actions of the guilty few? Is this scheme going to work?