Who lets the dogs out!

As supposedly a nation of dog lovers, with over 8 million dogs kept as pets, it is worrying to read that over 100,000 strays are found each year, plus a rising number of incidences of cruelty and neglect, with many dogs out of control.


In a year there are about 210,000 people attacked by dogs in England, this includes 6,000 postal workers. The cost to the NHS of treating severe injuries caused by dogs is over £3 million and since 2007 seven people including five children have been killed by dogs in home.

These facts come from the House of Commons paper “dog control and welfare” the seventh report of session 2012-13 by the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee.

This publication highlights many problems, from dog attacks on private property, which means the person attacked has no recourse to the criminal law provisions which apply to attacks on public property. There are also the problems of attacks on assistance dogs such as guide dogs, which impacts on the disabled person. There is also a problem with dogs that attack livestock, the legislation needs to be updated to include livestock such as llamas and other camelids. There is also a major concern about so-called “puppy farmers”

This parliamentary paper is well worth a read.