Police Chief: Breed Specific Legislation is Stupid
Published on June 12, 2008 by Ryan O'Meara · 2 CommentsChief constable of North Wales police, Richard Brunstrom has called for dangerous dogs to be treated like sex offenders – which is, frankly, crazy talk – but in a more rational moment of clarity he did hit out at breed specific legislation branding it ‘stupid’.
The police chief used the opportunity presented by the RSPCA dangerous dogs conference to urge officers to treat any dog involved in a biting incident as “like a previous conviction”.
He told the conference that Britain had seen “exponential growth in dog fighting” and its towns and cities were “swamped with irresponsible owners”.
According to police figures, officers dealt with 27 cases of dog bites in North Wales between June 2007 and the end of May.
Brunstrom advised that police should target “canine offenders”.
“We really need to think about targeting offenders, both the human and the canine. We do not pay enough attention to the dogs that bite within our communities. If a dog has bitten before that should be regarded as previous conviction in human terms.
“We have not been seeking out the problem dogs and doing something about them.
“We could be and we should be. We don’t know about the recidivism rate of biting dogs.
“Just like with the most serious sex offenders, most of the dogs that kill or seriously hurt a person have a previous history and we can look back and see where it would have been possible to intervene and have done something about it.
“I’m absolutely certain there are things to be learned about problem dogs from the way we target and manage sex offenders and deal with children who are at risk.”
He criticised the Dangerous Dogs Act for for legislating against specific breeds. A law brought in in 1991 by Ken Baker.
He said:
“In my opinion the breed type legislation is stupid, it is intellectually ridiculous and bankrupt but we are stuck with it.”
~ Mr Brunstom, we certainly agree with you on a significant amount of what you say here. Breed specific legislation IS stupid. HAS failed and it’s time – right now, right at this time in history – to repeal it without delay. We also can learn from dog bites by trying to take prevenative measures as where possible and focusing ALL legislation on irresponsible owners of dogs.
Dog Ownership Suitability Test anyone?
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Tags: Breed Specific Legislation, Dangerous Dogs, Social Issues
Almost as if Mr Brunstrom is the front man for some kind of forthcoming crackdown on dog owners!
Wonder if the tired old ‘compulsory microchipping and dog registration is the answer to everything’ is lurking in the background too?
Outspoken ‘personality’ = hidden agenda.
Watch this space!
Yes dogs that are the product of irresponsible ownership should be treated like sex offenders; removed from society and rehabilitated before being released, just like Michael Vicks dogs are being treated. The RSPCA, that multi-million dollar charity should be doing just that rather than killing any dog it’s untrained staff consider a Pit. The Staffie is also a Pit, bred and fought just like many other breeds and no doubt forms a large percentage of the RSPCA’s dangerous dogs cull.