The 20 groups have come together to demand action against irresponsible dog owners by the Government and the provision of necessary resources for those tasked with policing dog control laws.

It comes ahead of the summary of responses from Defra’s consultation on dog legislation which is expected this autumn.

The consultation received more than 4,000 responses by the time it closed in June, indicating the scale of interest in the subject.

The statement will be sent to Prime Minister David Cameron MP, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg MP and acting leader of the opposition Harriet Harman MP.

The statement says: “We believe that irresponsible dog ownership, whether it is allowing dogs to stray, be dangerously out of control or indiscriminately breeding them, causes significant problems for the safety and welfare of both humans and animals. Current legislation is proving inadequate in many cases to ensure sufficient protection.

“We believe that both the provision of sufficient resources at a local level for local authorities and the police, and updated and consolidated legislation that has a genuine preventative effect, are needed to address this problem.

“We call on the coalition Government to act and bring forward legislation that addresses these areas effectively.”

Organisations signed up to the statement include:

Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, The Blue Cross, The British Horse Society, British Veterinary Association (BVA), CIEH (Chartered Institute for Environmental Health), Communication Workers Union (CWU), Dogs Trust, GMB, Guide Dogs for the Blind, IIRSM (International Institute of Risk and Safety Management), Kennel Club, The Mayhew Animal Home, National Dog Warden Association (NDWA), PDSA, Police Federation, Prospect, RSPCA, TUC (Trades Union Congress), UNISON, UNITE.

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Xylitol is increasingly used as a sweetener in sugar-free chewing gum and other confectionary; it is used in dental hygiene products and is also found as an excipient in many medicines. Of particular concern are the sugar substitute products that contain Xylitol which are used in home baking as well as in manufactured goods. Cakes, biscuits and other goodies made with it are toxic to dogs. Owners may not be aware of these dangers and may not associate clinical deterioration with ingestion of these foodstuffs.

Other animals such as ferrets and cats may be similarly affected and the Veterinary Poisons Information Service (VPIS) is monitoring all referred cases.

BVA Past President Nicky Paull commented:

“While most dog owners are now aware that foods such as chocolate and grapes can be toxic to their pets few are aware of the dangers if their dog eats a cake or muffin containing Xylitol.

“If you think your dog may have eaten chewing gum or a sweet or cake containing Xylitol and appears unwell, perhaps vomiting or lacking coordination, then contact your vet for advice immediately and be ready to provide information on what’s been consumed.”

The BVA Animal Welfare Foundation and the Veterinary Poisons Information Service (VPIS) have produced an easy reference guide to keeping pets safe from harmful substances. The ‘Pets and poisons: keeping your animal safe’ leaflet can be easily downloaded from the BVA AWF website at www.bva-awf.org.uk or you can request a copy from the Foundation.

Alexander Campbell, Head of Service at VPIS, added:

“With the increasing number of products containing Xylitol on the market the VPIS recognises the extreme importance of raising awareness of the danger to dogs of ingesting this substance, particularly in the light of a case we handled the other evening which involved a dog eating a muffin made with this sugar substitute.

“This is yet another instance where a food or food additive deemed safe for human consumption proves to be dangerous for other species. Pets should really only be given foodstuffs formulated for them.

“It is possible that other animals such as ferrets or cats might be affected similarly, but few cases are yet documented. The VPIS continues to monitor all referred cases in all animals with the aim of clarifying the situation in other species as and when more data become available.

“The VPIS would like to see manufacturers of these products provide some visible warnings and information on the packaging and to inform the retail outlets they supply of the potential risks to dogs.”

Louise Wilson, from Flintshire-based specialist sniffer dog company Wagtail UK, is helping set up a scheme that will train dogs to find cheetah scats – their poo.

Louise, 28, from Saltney, near Chester, is just back from World Cup-mad South africa where the only big game she was interested in has four legs and can run at over 70mph.

She was there as the guest of the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT), a South African-based charity who were keen to see if dogs could be used in conservation work. They had approached Wagtail UK Managing Director Collin Singer and it was through him that fellow director Louise became involved.

Collin, a former RAF Police dog handler, set up Wagtail UK in 2003 and the company now specialises in training and using sniffer dogs to detect everything from drugs to explosives to human bodies and they work extensively within the security industry, including at the French Channel ports with the UK Border Agency checking freight for illegal immigrants.

They have also seen the potential for the use of dogs in wildlife work which is where Louise’s involvement with the EWT came about.

She said: “I studied Animal Behavior and Welfare at Chester University and I have a passionate interest in conservation so I was delighted to get involved.

“The EWT were interested to find out if dogs could work in their environment where the temperature is very high, it’s dusty and you are dealing with vast areas of land.

“I see huge potential for the use of dogs in this field because they are able to find rare animals in a non-invasive way. There’s no shooting them with dart guns, tranquillising them and fitting them with special tracking collars.

“The dogs can be trained to find their scat, they don’t bother or upset the cheetahs and it means the scats can be examined so that conservationists know what sort of diet the animals are eating and how healthy they are.

“South africa is just such a fantastic place. It’s so spectacular and the wildlife is amazing – you’re out there in the bush at night and you can hear the hyenas and jackals calling and all the other sounds.”

Louise has been working closely with Rox Brummer, EWT’s Carnivore Conflict Officer in northern South africa, close to the borders with Zimbabwe and Botswana and she shares Louise’s enthusiasm for the use of dogs in tracking the rare animals.

Rox said: “Cheetahs are very shy cats and get stressed very easily and the darting procedure can be very risky for them.

“Using scat detection dogs means you can potentially sample all the animals in a population rather than just a few.

“This will give researchers a much fuller picture of what is going on within the cheetah population so we can find out how many cheetahs there are, their state of health and their dietary preferences, all without seeing a single spot.”

The sniffer dog unit at the EWT is in its early stages, with the facilities still under construction, so on Louise’s visit she helped Rox erect temporary kennels and a large tent for training and she started schooling two dogs, Minkie, a daschund, and Gala, a Malinois or Belgian Shepherd.

She believes both have the potential to be trained to detect cheetahs and also another rare species, the blue swallow.

“Dogs are just the best way of searching,” Louise said: “If you suspect someone of carrying drugs you can go through all the business of questioning them and then strip searching them but with a dog you just get it to sniff them.

“I can’t believe dogs are not more widely used within conservation because they’re so ideal and it’s something that we can bring back and use in this country with our own rare and endangered species.

“And dogs are easily available, cost effective, efficient and fast.

“At Wagtail we have some amazing ideas and projects running with regard to a conservation dog section here in the UK and we really want to hear from people about using dogs for conservation.

Louise said that dogs can be trained to detect a scent in as little as 16 weeks and in Africa they would have to work off-lead much of the time and have a bell on to warn animals of their approach as well as being well trained in recall.

She joined Wagtail UK six years ago, initially as an unpaid volunteer but has become an integral part of the operation and is now Head of Training.

She has worked with detection dogs on places as diverse as Wembley and the QE2 and has five dogs of her own: “I just adore working with detection dogs and conservation is something which I’ve always been fascinated in and which I feel there is so much scope for the use of dogs,” she said.

“They’re ideal for finding things. If it has a scent then a dog can find it.”

To make donations to the Endangered Wildlife Trust or for more information go to www.ewt.org.za

Liberal Democrat Peer Rupert Redesdale outlined before the Lords his intention to introduce major changes to current dangerous dog legislation, which is widely considered to be one of the most ineffective pieces of government legislation ever brought into force.

These changes include:

· More emphasis on the owner’s responsibilities – the Bill supports the principle that it is the owner who has the potential to make a dog either well-behaved or badly-behaved. It gives authorised officers the powers to place Dog Control Notices on irresponsible owners at the first signs of dog aggression.

· Legislation will no longer be breed specific – since the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, public money and resources have been wasted by already overstretched police authorities seizing dogs simply for being of a particular breed or type. Research now overwhelmingly supports the principle of ‘deed not breed’, and proves that genetics (breed) play only a limited part in the temperament of an individual dog, with environment and training having a far greater effect.

· Attacks which take place on private property would also become a criminal offence – a large number of dog attack incidents occur within the home and on private property. The Bill includes various exemptions such as being attacked by another animal, provocation, and attacks on individuals committing an offence for which they could be imprisoned.

Regarding the second reading, Lord Redesdale commented: “The Control of Dogs Bill has had a successful second stage and is now going to Committee in the House of Lords. A number of issues were raised which will have to be dealt with in Committee but all contributions in the debate stressed the need for responsibility on the other end of the lead – with owners”.

Lord Redesdale’s work on the Bill has been supported by the Dangerous Dogs Act Study Group, which is made up of animal welfare organisations, veterinary professionals and local authorities. The DDASG has lobbied against the inadequacies of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 for many years and believes that current legislation has failed to protect the public and instead caused a significant welfare issue whilst creating the problem of status dogs.

DDASG Chairman and Veterinary Director of Dogs Trust, Chris Laurence said “Contrary to the comments of Lord Grantchester in this afternoon’s speech, Dogs Trust wholeheartedly supports the work of the DDASG, at which we Chair, and Lord Redesdale’s Dog Control Bill.

The Bill focuses on prevention rather than cure, better protects the public and emphasises responsible dog ownership and all members of DDASG are delighted that it has passed its next stage through Parliament”.

Existing legislation has failed to reduce the number of dog bite incidents in the UK, which have risen in the past five years by 79% in London and 43% nationally*. Meanwhile costs have continued to rise; it was revealed that 10 million pounds has been spent by the Metropolitan Police alone in the past 3 years simply to implement Section 1 of the Dangerous Dogs Act, relating to the seizure, kennelling and euthanasia of banned breeds.

The Dangerous Dogs Act Study Group has also launched a petition supporting Lord Redesdale’s Dog Control Bill which already has almost 10,000 signatures. The petition can be found at http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/repeal-and-replace-the-dangerous-dogs-act.html

For more information on DDASG, Lord Redesdale’s Dog Control Bill and current ‘dangerous dog’ legislation visit http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/item/928

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The EDM is gaining signatures from across all political parties as MPs show their support for a compulsory microchipping scheme that would have a significant and positive welfare impact on dogs by:

* assisting in the return of stray and stolen dogs to their owners;
* improving traceability of puppy-farmed dogs; and
* providing a lifetime of security for a one-off payment.

The EDM is also supported by Dogs Trust (who coordinated the EDM), Cats Protection, Blue Cross, and NOAH (National Office for Animal Health).

Earlier this week Welsh Rural Affairs Minister Elin Jones AM announced proposals for the compulsory microchipping of all dogs and puppies sold or homed by licensed breeders, to improve traceability.

Commenting, Professor Bill Reilly, President of the British Veterinary Association (BVA), said:

“Microchipping is part of responsible pet ownership and the BVA believes that all dogs should be permanently identified by microchip before the first change of ownership or at the first veterinary examination.

“Compulsory microchipping allows stray dogs to be reunited with their owners and would help the authorities to crack down on shameful puppy farms, where the health and welfare of both puppies and bitches is compromised, by improving the traceability of the animals.

“It could also assist with the reporting of hereditary health problems and surgical procedures to help us gain as much knowledge and research as we can to improve the health of all dogs.

“I would urge all Members of Parliament to show their support for dogs and their owners by signing this EDM.”

The full text of EDM 357: COMPULSORY MICROCHIPPING OF DOGS

Rosindell, Andrew

That this House recognises that the introduction of a compulsory microchipping scheme for dogs would have a significant and positive welfare impact, including the return of stray and stolen dogs to their owners and the improved traceability of puppy-farmed dogs; congratulates Dogs Trust, Cats Protection, Blue Cross, National Office of Animal Health and the British Veterinary Association on their efforts to raise public awareness of microchipping and their campaigning for a mandatory scheme; acknowledges that microchipping provides a lifetime of security for a one-off payment; agrees that a compulsory microchipping scheme is currently the preferred alternative to a dog licensing scheme, which would potentially create unnecessary bureaucracy and expense for local authorities; and believes that this would not represent a barrier to dog ownership for vulnerable groups.

Almost two years ago, Governor Rendell, at the urging of the General Assembly and citizens throughout the Commonwealth, signed a law that would require among other things that breeding dogs in commercial kennels have unfettered access to the outside (indoor/outdoor kennel runs), and that all dogs over the age of twelve weeks not be housed on wire flooring (solid or slatted floors only).

Historically, dogs in Pennsylvania’s puppy mills have been forced to spend their lives standing on painful wire strand flooring in too-small cages often without any access to the outside. Governor Rendell’s new law was meant to improve conditions for millions of dogs in PA’s commercial kennels in the years to come. Instead Smith and West have decided to ignore the Governor’s wishes and the new law, by creating a policy that would allow pregnant and nursing mothers to be forced to stand on the now-outlawed wire strand flooring up to six months of the year and deny these poor animals unfettered access to an outside exercise area.

Members of Pennsylvania’s animal welfare community are asking for Jessie Smith and Sue West’s immediate removal and see their new policy as just one more attempt by the Bureau to protect the commercial breeders rather than the dogs of Pennsylvania. In October of 2009, as the new dog law went into effect, Smith and West issued waivers to 81 of the 111 commercial kennels, exempting over two thirds of PA’s commercial kennels from Pennsylvania’s new dog laws. Some of these waivers were for up to three years.

“The Governor should be outraged by what his staff is doing. If the Governor does want to help the dogs of Pennsylvania, he would demand that his Special Secretary and his Director of Dog Law enforce his new law rather than searching for loopholes to help the breeders keep their dogs on wire flooring” said Bill Smith, founder of Main Line Animal Rescue and an ASPCA Lifetime Achievement Award Winner. The ASPCA permitted HSUS’ Sarah Speed to express their opposition to the Bureau’s new policy at last week’s DLAB meeting. The Humane Society of the United States, United Against Puppy Mills, North Penn Puppy Mill Watch, Animal Law Coalition, Main Line Animal Rescue, and Cumberland Valley Animal Shelter’s Nancy Gardner have all expressed their opposition to the Bureau’s new policy of allowing kennel owners to circumvent the new law.

“Everyone who worked so hard to pass these new laws in an effort to improve conditions in PA’s mass dog breeding facilities should know all their hard work was for nothing – now that the administration plans not to enforce them” said one angry volunteer who helps rehabilitates rescued puppy mill dogs in Lancaster County. “And after all the Governor’s promises, dogs continue to suffer – breeding dogs trapped inside barns in 101 degree temperatures.” In spite of Jessie Smith and Sue West’s announcement last week that dogs could remain on wire, the two administrators listed breeding dogs removed from wire flooring as one of the Bureau’s accomplishments in their 2009 report to PA’s General Assembly. Only last month, PA’s Canine Health Board, consisting of nine veterinarians, also voted against the use of wire flooring in commercial kennels. “I feel like I live in North Korea” said one advocate for the animals. “The government can do as they like – and in this case, not only are they not enforcing the law, they’re encouraging people to break it.”

The requirements for solid flooring and unfettered access to the outside exercise area are two of the more important aspects of the new law, and many believe anyone who feels that it is alright to keep dogs trapped inside hot barns and standing on wire flooring has never been to a puppy mill and is hardly qualified to comment or shape new policies. “The governor once said that he knows how bad these kennels are – he didn’t need to see them” said Bill Smith “Well, I think its time the governor visit a few of these places, see 700 dogs unable to walk properly after spending their lives on vinyl coated chicken wire. How can the administration claim that Pennsylvania now has the toughest dog laws in the country if the governor is not insisting they be enforced?” Animal advocates are planning a rally to protest the Bureau’s ongoing policy of continuing to allow PA’s puppy mill dogs to suffer – either in Harrisburg or Philadelphia’s City Hall near the governor’s Broad Street offices.

Veterinary surgeons across the UK are required under RCVS guidelines to make provision for out-of-hours emergency veterinary treatment, a commitment they have recently re-affirmed. However, it is the responsibility of animal owners to know what to do and where to go in a veterinary emergency, something which is particularly important when travelling away from home.

“Thankfully, the most eventful thing about a holiday for a pet is usually all the new and exciting places to explore,” says RCVS Vice-President Jerry Davies. “However, if an emergency does arise, pets depend on receiving prompt veterinary attention, so owners need to know in advance what to do and where to go.”

The easiest way for animal owners to find practices local to UK holiday destinations is via the College’s free online ‘Find-a-Vet’ service (www.findavet.org.uk), which can be searched by town or postcode. This also shows whether practices are accredited by the RCVS under its Practice Standards Scheme – a voluntary accreditation scheme which helps to promote and maintain the highest standards of veterinary care.

“Outside normal practice hours, the provision of emergency veterinary treatment can vary and might well be different from that which owners are used to at home,” says Jerry. “Practices may provide emergency cover themselves, team up with other practices to look after a bigger area, or contract out to dedicated emergency service providers.”

“Practices should always be able to explain their arrangements clearly for the times when they are closed, so it’s best to give them a call beforehand to double check,” he advises. “Your usual veterinary practice may also be able to help you target a suitable practice at your holiday destination.”

So, before setting off on holiday, animal owners should remember the following:

* Use www.findavet.org.uk to locate a local veterinary practice and find out what its emergency provisions are, or ask your own vet for advice;
* Take any medication with you that your animal might already be on and the instructions for it’s use;
* Home visits are rare, even in an emergency, so be prepared to take your animal to the practice as that’s where it can usually be treated best;
* A ‘holiday’ practice will need to see your animal’s clinical records, so take your usual vet’s contact details with you;
* There is no NHS for pets: emergency treatments out-of-hours will often be more expensive (although vets are required to obtain clients’ consent for any non-emergency treatment);
* Even if you’re leaving your pet with a friend or pet-sitter, it’s still worth contacting your usual practice to double check that their arrangements for veterinary emergencies haven’t changed.

Bryony Singleton, aged 12, has yet to decide which puppy she will shortly be taking home with her – but when she does, she will submit the Labrador Retriever’s details into the Dogslife project via the internet. Her puppy will be one of a litter of 10 in Peebles. Bryony is able to choose from two that have not yet been allocated homes. “Seven years of asking my mum and dad for a puppy have finally paid off,” she said. “The puppies are too young to take home. We are waiting to see them when they are a bit older before choosing which to take. We’ve not decided on a name yet, so hopefully that will just jump out.”
“I think it is really good to input details of the puppies to learn more about their health, and it also gets across the message about how important it is to exercise the dog.” The puppies, from Kennel Club-accredited breeder Ian Mitchell, weighed one pound at birth and have only recently opened their eyes. Bryony, who has the pups’ birthday written on her calendar, will be allowed to take one home at the end of July when the litter is eight weeks old.
Her mother, Jean Singleton, 52, of Peebles, said: “I think the Dogslife project is a great idea as it will not only help these dogs but also other dogs in the future. “People tend to feed dogs all different types of food and have different ideas about what you should and should not do, as well as different approaches to exercise. I would be quite interested to find out the statistics from the project and see what emerges at the end of the day.”
Bryony is eager to invite friends around to introduce them to her puppy, although her mother says that, when the puppy first comes home, they will need to limit the number of visitors. “Bryony is really excited about introducing the puppy to her friends, but we want to make sure the dog gets used to us and the house first. My husband and I are probably just as excited as Bryony – but we’re trying to pretend we’re not.”

For more information please contact: Tara Womersley, University of Edinburgh Press and PR Office, tel 0131 650 9836 or 07791 355 804 email Tara.Womersley@ed.ac.uk