Interesting question, isn’t it? ‘Why is the RSPCA calling for dangerous dogs to be made legal again?’.
I think the important thing to note here is that the RSPCA aren’t calling for ‘dangerous’ dogs to be made legal. Dangerous dogs – the ones that are out of control, bite risks, attacking people and animals, unhandleable and a risk to life – those dogs fall under different ‘arm’ of legislation. What they are asking for is that dogs aren’t being banned based purely on their breed even if they have never shown any aggressive behaviour. And yes, that applies to the “XL Bully” dogs too!
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It’s against the law to let a dog be dangerously out of control anywhere, such as:
- in a public place
- in a private place, for example a neighbour’s house or garden
- in the owner’s home
This law applies to all dogs
Your dog is considered dangerously out of control if it:
- injures someone
- makes someone worried that it might injure them
A court could also decide that your dog is dangerously out of control if either of the following apply:
- it attacks someone’s animal
- the owner of an animal thinks they could be injured if they tried to stop your dog attacking their animal
So, what is this about?
But there is something called ‘Breed Specific Legislation’ or BSL for short, and this is something that the RSPCA are looking into and asking for it to be changed – why?
Well, it may be down to the fact that BLS was introduced and has seen numerous friendly, socialised dogs seized by police purely because of their breed. This is a huge drain of resources and taxpayers money, is distressing for the owner and can result in the prolonged kenneling and euthanasia of a dog who has effectively done nothing wrong other than the breed it was born as.
So, let’s investigate a few things…
History
The Dangerous Dogs Act was quickly passed through Parliament following a series of tragic incidents in the early 1990s and was introduced in 1991. Dogs included on the banned list currently includes the Pit Bull Terrier, the Japanese Tosa, the Dogo Argentino and the Filo Brasileiro. It is against the law to own, sell, breed from, give away or abandon these dogs.
BSL has since been criticised as poorly thought-out, reactionary legislation that in the many years since implementation has not done what it set out to achieve.
The two arms include the Act set out to improve public safety by:
- Making it a criminal offence to allow a dog to be dangerously out of control in a public place (Section 3)
And…
- Outlawing four dog breed types – dogs of the types known as the Pit Bull Terrier, Japanese Tosa, Dogo Argentino and Fila Brasileiro (Section 1).
Bite statistics
NHS data suggests that there were a provisional 9,366 dog bites recorded in 2022/23 – an increase on the 8,819 recorded the previous year. There has been a huge 88% increase in attendances, from 4699 in 2007 to 8819 in 2021-22.
According to one source, people aged 50 and 59 were the most likely victims of dog bites and strikes, with almost 1.5 thousand admissions in this reporting year. Furthermore, over 1.1 thousand children aged under 10 years of age were also admitted to hospital because of dog bites and strikes.
2022 saw a sudden jump in the number of people in England and Wales dying because of dog bite injuries. While a typical year records around three fatal attacks which has been at a steady low rate for several years, the death toll in 2022 totaled 10; 4 of the victims were children.
Why the big jump in deaths?
The reason for the increase in 2022 deaths by dog attacks has not been studied but there are a few theories. The pandemic saw a huge increase in pet ownership, many young people gained pets – maybe they were first time owners and inexperienced in dog behaviour. Secondly, the big increase in pet demand at the time saw the rise of some unscrupulous breeders – dogs were being bred in poor circumstance, poorly socialised and then lived in a lockdown – many dogs are thought to have developed behaviour issues who are termed ‘lockdown’ puppies.
Thirdly, there has been a big rise in ‘XL Bullies’ and these have been responsible for several deaths in 2022. However, these dogs have also been seen to be the dogs who are imported, cropped ears, poor health, painful conditions, status symbols and may have had an extremely traumatic start to life, possibly accounting for a decline in behaviour – this is all theoretical but could be some of the many factors as to why this is happening.
But banning these breeds still might not be the answer in reducing dog bites – it is already illegal to crop dog’s ears, yet it is happening illegally in the UK – fighting against people doing this mutilation needs to be more stringent. Secondly, the Animal Welfare Act stipulates that dogs cannot be used for breeding if their health, genotype and phenotype are likely to have adverse health effects on their offspring. This obviously could be applied to several modern breeds, but many dogs are in breach of this resulting in painful condition that can result in behavioural decline – again more stringent application is needed.
Does BSL work?
The short answer is no, the introduction of BSL has not reduced dog bites – and we have seen a startling increase in reported bites – remember that not all people bitten will seek medical attention.
If you have a banned dog, the police or local council dog warden can take it away and keep it, even if:
- it is not acting dangerously
- there has not been a complaint
The application of this breed-specific legislation is supposed to have kept the public safe by banning a select few breeds that they believed to be dangerous and the cause of most of the attacks. However, it is believed that the legislation has been a costly failure, resulting in health and welfare concerns in the canines and suffering in the humans. The seizing, kenneling, assessment and other finances involved in seizing dogs who may have done nothing wrong can be huge.
Despite the high costs and years of banned breeds, the data speaks for itself – bites aren’t reducing because of BSL. A review five years after the implementation of the Dangerous Dogs Act (1991) found no significant reduction in dog bites. Despite the destruction of countless numbers of ‘banned’ dogs and the social restriction of others, a study published in 2021 found that the incidence of dog bites in adults in England tripled between 1998-2018.
Furthermore, the Office for National Statistics lists 78 deaths from dog bites in England and Wales between 1981 and 2015. The RSPCA found from media reports that, of the 34 fatalities between 1989 and 2017, only nine involved pit bull types. Of the 35 reported and registered dog bite fatalities in the UK between 2005 and 2013, specific breeds were reported in 11 cases, but only two involved pit bull types. Between 1992 and 2019, only 8% of dangerously out-of-control dog cases involved banned breeds. Deaths by dogs have actually remained stable and ‘low’, until 2022, but one death is too many and is heartbreaking for all involved.
Why abolish BSL?
It has been noted that there is a progressive global trend is to repeal breed-specific legislation. The Netherlands introduced breed-specific legislation in 1992 and abolished it in 2008, after a study found that commonly owned dogs were responsible for more bites than breed-specific dogs. Italy introduced breed-specific legislation, which banned 92 breeds, in 2003 and abolished it in 2009 for similar reasons.
When Battersea asked for experts’ opinions, 74% said that breed was either not important at all or only slightly important in determining dog aggression levels. They also noted that upbringing of the dog is the critical factor – 86% said that the way it is brought up by its owner is the most important factor in a dog’s aggression towards people, while 73% said it is linked to a dog’s upbringing by the breeder before it is sold. This means that we should actually be looking to tighten the legislation around breeding so that puppies are brought up in healthy, happy, well sociable, clean environments with good socialisation and appropriate care.
Furthermore, it is thought that education was the key to prevention of dog bites with 87% of behaviourists and trainers saying that educating the owners and others on how to read dog body language is crucial for preventing dog bites, with even a small amount of understanding likely to have an impact and 78% supported the compulsory training of new dog owners.
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Discussion