Dangerous dogs legislation


In Scotland, 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 campaigned for new laws to cover England and Wales. Following the Langley inquiry into dog attacks on postal workers, 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 also gives new powers to police and local authorities to help them to act early and stop dog attacks before they happen. In addition, it has introduced compulsory microchipping (from April 2016), to 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. In March 2016, it welcomed new Sentencing Council guidelines that will see harsher punishments handed down to owners convicted of dangerous dog offences. The union has been waging its long running Bite Back campaign to extend the remit of the law and increase penalties and from July 2016, when the new guidelines came into force, the maximum prison sentence for a dangerous dog offence where someone is killed rose from two to 14 years, and where someone is injured from two to five years.


“Sadly, the CWU represents the largest group and number of dog attack victims in the UK, with around 4000 members, postal and telecom workers attacked every year,” said CWU National Health, Safety and Environment Officer Dave Joyce. “The impact on the victims and severity of injuries in many cases of dog attack offence can be severe, traumatising and disabling for life and the sheer range of seriousness in dangerous dog cases is very considerable. We hope the new sentencing guidelines will ensure more consistency and penalties that fit the crime.”


The guidelines will also encourage courts to use their powers to ban people from keeping dogs where appropriate.