Benn announces consultation on dangerous dogs
10 March 2010 (updated on 22 April 2010)
Environment Secretary, Hilary Benn, announced in a written ministerial statement, a consultation on whether current law on dangerous dogs properly protects the public and encourages responsible dog ownership.
- Commons Hansard: Dangerous dogs consultation
- About Parliament: Written ministerial statements
- Defra consultation on dangerous dogs |(external site)
Consultation
The aim is to review current legislation, help enforcers tackle those who abuse the law, and stop the abuse suffered by dogs that end up in the wrong hands.
The consultation will run until 1 June, and will examine:
- extending dangerous dogs law 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
- either getting rid of 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
- what to do about the list of banned breeds
- introducing compulsory micro-chipping for dogs so that dog owners can be more easily traced
- introducing compulsory third-party insurance so that victims of dog attacks are financially recompensed