Blue Cross pleased to see Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Efra) Committee inquiry into the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991
Blue Cross is pleased to see that the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee (Efra) is launching an inquiry into the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991.
When the Act was brought in, its primary aim was to deal with the increasing number of dog attacks, 27 years later, it is clear that this law has been completely ineffective at reducing these types of incidents.
Section one of the Dangerous Dogs Act (1991) outlaws four types of dog, the pit bull terrier types, Japanese tosa, dogo Argentino, and fila Brasilerio. The law makes it illegal to own, sell, breed, give away or abandon one of these types of dog.
Becky Thwaites, Blue Cross Head of Public Affairs, said: “As an organisation, we believe that this law unfairly targets breed types because of the way they look. We know that each year, many Section One dogs are seized unnecessarily and can spend months stuck in kennels which negatively impacts on their welfare. Sadly, too many of these dogs will end up being put to sleep despite the fact that most of them could go back to their homes and continue to make loving family pets.”
Blue Cross wants to see an end to legislation that singles out dogs based on looks alone and the focus switched to prevention, Blue Cross will be submitting evidence to the inquiry and hopes that the government will take note of Efra’s findings and review this outdated and ineffective piece of legislation.
