Dangerous dogs legislation

The Control of Dogs (Scotland) Act 2010 gave Scottish local authorities the power to serve dog control orders, or “dog ASBOs”, and holds owners fully and legally accountable for the actions of their dogs even in their own homes. Similar laws apply in Northern Ireland and some twenty organisations have been campaigning for new laws to cover England and Wales. Following the Langley inquiry into dog attacks on postal workers, which recommended in November 2012, that legislation be introduced to provide tougher legal sanctions against owners of dangerous dogs, the government announced new laws in February 2013.

In May 2014, the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 was extended to private property, meaning people such as postal workers and telecom engineers now have protection under the law. The Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 now also includes new powers for police and local authorities to help them to can act early and stop dog attacks before they happen. It will also introduce compulsory microchipping (from April 2016) to help when they are working in and around people‘s homes, improve responsible dog ownership and help identify owners of dogs which attack people and animals.

The communications union CWU has been campaigning for many years for better protection of workers from dangerous dogs. CWU national health and safety officer, Dave Joyce, welcomed the news: “These changes will help to keep thousands of postal workers safer and irresponsible dog owners will be held to account and face far harsher punishments for offences. These new rules mean these owners will be held accountable and face a substantial increase in sentencing penalties. Compulsory microchipping will also help bring about more responsible dog ownership.”