Caged Dogs and The Law
written by Karen Clark-Stapleton
Ok so the Animal Welfare Act 2006 Is now over the honeymoon period, but what effect has it had and does it really empower authorities to act.
Let us look at the act critically as many owners hate its implications , whilst others love it. Link.
If we look at Section 9 Promotion of Welfare, what does that imply?
Well it implies we all have a legal obligation to permit the dog to exhibit NORMAL behaviour at all times …..Ok then lets turn this on its head.
A show dog that is kept isolated in a kennel or crate in its show cut continually would be unlawful as it cannot exibit normal behaviour such as pack socialisation, pack hieracrchy behaviour or communicate with the pack, Lets not forget that you as owner form part of its pack and if the dog is kept away from the pack how can it express itself, how can it communicate, develop mentally .
I know many show dogs being kept as described , yet to date none have been warned by either the kennel club or the RSPCA or any other authority. I think that notices should be served on any owner who fails to keep thei dogs in a normal environment, its a very poor excuse to say “It will break the coat”,Yet this is what one hears from these breeders and its one that is readily accepted by those in authority. Ask yourself when you last saw a coated show dog romping on the beach. know one family of dogs that NEVER walk outside, they do not socialise with other dogs unless mating and they are kept in a show cut permanently.
The owner works full time so interaction is minimal .Yet she regards herself as an animal lover ?
If this act is to work for animals we must start to address the ethics behind showing and how exhibitors manage their dogs at all times not just during the show season.
Now we should look at those who permit obesity in their pets at home. Its just as bad healthwise to overfeed as it is to underfeed and until more people are prosecuted , we fail dogs and the act is simply paying lip service to animal welfare.Who defines a good diet for the purposes of this act, that is a hard question, as many commercial dry foods are heavy in fats , yet they are promoted as being good for the dog, many are high in preservativs and colourings which are harmful to dog…
Vets are reluctant to promote a natural diet as most simply do not understand the concept and its not taught at vet school, so in reality until we are all singing from the same hymn sheet , dogs health will suffer and it will be the poorer owners that face prosecution when Fido is a fat lazy dog.
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Karen
Nice article, however the reason that councils do not enforce the AWA is because the useless government failed to make it a duty of councils to enforce it plus they failed to provide any funding.
There are hardly any councils in the UK that have adopted the Act, a few exceptions are Brighton council who have prosecuted a breeder who cut off puppies tails with a pair of scissors and Southampton City Council who have done a couple of prosecutions working with the RSPCA.
The lack of effort is mainly due to the fact that cash strapped councils do not like having to take on additional legislation when they do not have to.
Me and my colleagues would love to be able to enforce the AWA but if our managers and councillors will not adopt it, there is nothing we can do.
It is a horrible situation to be in but we are stuck with it unless the government changes its mind and makes it a statutory duty for councils to enforce the AWA.
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