The British Veterinary Association (BVA) has welcomed the
recommendations put forward by the Environment, Food and Rural
Affairs (EFRA) committee on breed-specific legislation (BSL)
today (Wednesday), which calls on the government to conduct a
full-scale review of current dog control legislation and policy
to better protect the public.
The report, ‘Controlling dangerous dogs’, recommends an
alternative dog control model that focuses on prevention though
education, early intervention, and consistently robust sanctions
for offenders. In the absence of sufficient evidence to back BSL,
the report also calls on the government to conduct a
comprehensive independent evidence review into the factors behind
canine aggression and to introduce a centralised database to
record information on dog bites.
BVA has campaigned for many years for consolidated, effective and
evidence-based dog control legislation that recognises the
principle of ‘deed not breed’. BVA and the British Small Animal
Veterinary Association submitted a joint written response to the
inquiry and veterinary surgeon Robin Hargreaves gave oral
evidence to the committee on behalf of BVA in June.
In both our oral and written evidence to the committee, BVA
emphasised that a dog’s behaviour, including how and when it
displays aggression, is largely dependent on its socialisation,
rearing, training and environmental circumstances, and called for
the government to take a more holistic approach to minimising the
occurrence of dog bites, moving towards legislation based on the
‘deed not breed’ principle.
Commenting on the report, British Veterinary Association
President Simon Doherty said:
“This is a strong endorsement of BVA’s position on dangerous
dogs. We are very pleased to see that the report recommends a
full-scale review of current dog control legislation and policy
to better protect both public safety and animal welfare.
“BVA has long campaigned for a total overhaul of the 1991
Dangerous Dogs Act because it targets specific breeds rather than
deeds and gives a false impression that dogs not on the banned
list are ‘safe’, thereby failing to properly protect the public
and their pets from attacks.
“Any dog of any size has the capacity to be aggressive
and dangerous, particularly when it is not properly
trained or socialised, so education about responsible dog
ownership is key to reducing these terrible cases of dog attacks
we see in the headlines.
“We hope that the report will lead to robust, fit-for-purpose
legislation that effectively tackles individual acts of
aggression rather than banning entire breeds.”
BVA’s position statement on dangerous dogs can be viewed
at: https://www.bva.co.uk/uploadedFiles/Content/News,_campaigns_and_policies/Policies/Companion_animals/ps_dangerous_dogs.pdf
ENDS
Notes to editors
- BVA is the national representative body for the veterinary
profession in the UK. We represent the views of over 17,000
members on animal health and welfare, and veterinary policy
issues to government, parliamentarians and key influencers in the
UK and EU.
- BVA’s joint written response with the British Small Animal
Veterinary Association can be viewed at: http://data.parliament.uk/WrittenEvidence/CommitteeEvidence.svc/EvidenceDocument/Environment,%20Food%20and%20Rural%20Affairs/Dangerous%20Dogs%20Breed%20Specific%20Legislation/written/84323.html
- BVA past president Robin Hargreaves gave oral evidence to the
EFRA committee on 13 June 2018, which can be viewed
at: https://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/6a94f0c1-4b62-4d75-8308-622d134c29dc
