The RSPCA
is disappointed with the Government’s announcement that it
will not commit to reviewing the current legislation which brands
four types of dogs as dangerous.
The Government today (Monday 28 January) responded to the
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Committee’s
announcement, released in October following a public inquiry
based on evidence provided by the RSPCA and other animal welfare
organisations that showed no robust scientific evidence that
Breed Specific Legislation (BSL) works.
The RSPCA has been calling for a parliamentary inquiry into
the effectiveness of BSL in protecting public safety and dog
welfare since August 2016. The charity’s high-profile
#EndBSL
campaign called on the UK Government to review
Section 1 of the Dangerous Dogs Act (DDA) 1991 which, under BSL,
prohibits the ownership of four types of dogs: pitbull terrier,
fila Brasiliero, dogo Argentino, Japanese tosa.
Dr Samantha Gaines, RSPCA dog welfare expert and lead
author of the ‘Breed Specific
Legislation: A Dog’s Dinner’ report, said: “We
are extremely disappointed that the Government is still
suggesting that prohibited types of dogs are more dangerous than
other types of dogs and that they are involved in a
disproportionately high number of attacks on people, including
fatalities. The RSPCA, in its evidence to EFRA, made it very
clear that in the absence of robust data around the dog
population such claims cannot be made and it is misleading to do
so.
“We are also hugely disappointed that despite
EFRA recommending
changes which would mean that friendly and
rehomeable banned types of dogs could avoid being put to sleep,
the Government is unwilling to do so. For the past 27 years
thousands of dogs have paid the ultimate price as a result of
this draconian and unjust legislation which penalises dogs simply
for the way they look. This has lead to the unnecessary
destruction of hundreds of friendly and well-behaved family pets
and dogs that organisations like ourselves could rehome.
“We’re looking forward to the conclusions of the research
project currently being undertaken by Middlesex University. Our
own research has shown that there is a lack of scientific
evidence to support BSL and positive evidence against it. We
remain confident that the outcome of the research will be one
which recommends breed neutral legislation and that Government
will act on this.
“The Government urgently needs to act on this; public
safety and the lives of thousands more innocent dogs in the
future rely on it.”
In October, EFRA’s report called on the UK Government to
remove the ban on rehoming these banned types to new owners as
currently it results in the unnecessary euthanasia of
good-tempered dogs that could have been safely rehomed. It also
asks for an independent review into the factors affecting dog
aggression, and a new Dog Control Act to facilitate early
intervention in dog incidents, as well as better education for
children and dog owners.
In response, the Government today said they will not at
this time review or change the law to allow rehoming of Section 1
dogs.
The RSPCA welcomes DEFRA’s commitment to further research
around dog control and the Government’s pledge to research dog
legislation and practices outside of the UK. The charity is also
pleased that the Government is keen to explore the collection of
centralised data on dog bites, better childhood education around
dog safety and that they agree that seized dogs should not spend
long periods in kennels.
The RSPCA remains strongly opposed to Section 1 of the
Dangerous Dogs Act (BSL) and will continue to campaign for
immediate repeal and replacement of the law.
