Dogs who have irresponsible owners can be victims of cruelty and neglect, in some cases dogs may suffer violence at the hands of their owners in attempts to try and encourage aggression. Owners must be held accountable for their actions and take responsibility for their dogs training and behaviour.
Although I am pleased to hear that the Welsh government are serious about tackling the owners of dangerous dogs, I am alarmed that, like the British government, they are considering introducing just compulsory micro-chipping of dogs in order to do this next Spring.
Although compulsory micro-chipping is better than nothing, it will not be any real benefit to dogs unless some other important elements are included in new regulations, for example, the abolition of Breed Specific Legislation (which is the legislation Belfast County Council hid behind when seizing and murdering Lennox) a registration scheme and education and engagement.
Current legislation is failing to tackle the problem of irresponsible dog ownership and since the Dangerous Dogs Act was introduced in 1991 the situation has increasingly worsened.
If you live in Wales you can tell the Welsh government what you think by taking action and contributing to their consultation which closes on Wednesday 8th August.
The English government consultation is now closed but ,if you live in England, you can still help take action against irresponsible dog ownership by signing The Sun newspapers petition calling for compulsory micro-chipping AND registration of dogs as the first step to ensure owners are made accountable for their actions.
