03/09/2010Posted : September 03, 2010
Legislation urgently needed to prevent another tragedy, says Kennel Club

Two separate dog attacks in Scotland this week reaffirm the need for new legislation to deal with such incidents across the UK, according to the Kennel Club.
 
The Kennel Club (KC) has long been campaigning for a change in the law regarding dangerous dogs and had considerable input into the Control of Dogs (Scotland) Act which recently passed through the Scottish Parliament, but is not due to come into force until February 2011.

The renewed call for legislation to be introduced throughout the UK follows a horrific week, during which:

• 10-year-old Rhianna Kidd was mauled by two rottweilers while riding her bicycle in Dundee. She was treated for a fractured jaw and needed plastic surgery; and
  
• 10-year-old Toni Clannachan needed more than 100 stitches and was scarred for life after being attacked by an Akita fighting dog in Kilmarnock.

The Control of Dogs (Scotland) Act will place more emphasis on prevention of dog attacks by focusing on owner responsibility and tackling dangerous dog aggression at the earliest stage of bad behaviour. It will also allow for prosecutions to be made in cases where an incident has occurred on private property (as was believed to be the case in Kilmarnock) as well as in public places.

KC communications director Caroline Kisko said: "We must act now and change the sadly ineffective Dangerous Dogs legislation across the whole of the UK if we are to prevent further tragedies from occurring like the ones which resulted in the deaths of John Paul Massey, Ellie Lawrenson and others.
 
"This [latest] dog attack is said to have involved a Japanese Akita, just days after another tragic attack involving a pair of Rottweilers. This simply proves that any breed of dog can be dangerous if it is in the wrong hands. People deserve to feel safe around dogs and the new legislation cannot come soon enough."

For further information on the Kennel Club's campaign to change current dangerous dog legislation, visit www.thekennelclub.org.uk/kccampaigns.