Ennvironment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee Written evidence submitted by Operation Neuter

I welcome the fact that there is consultation on the Dangerous Dogs Amendment, but I am concerned that the laws are not going far enough to prevent attacks from occurring in the first place.

Middlesex university recently published their research that dogs are being bred by gangs who want to use them for fighting or for a “hard” image. There are thousands of dogs abandoned each year, including many advertised “free” on sites such as Gumtree and Preloved. I believe that the route cause of the problem is the overbreeding of dogs by irresponsible owners. Rescue centres have to pick up the pieces from a situation which should be preventable from the start.

One way to overcome this, would be a crackdown on owners with their dogs in the community. I believe that Local Authorities should be given more powers to intervene and remove a dog from a potentially dangerous situation; BEFORE the dog has been taught to be aggressive. A key way to save money in the long term is through neutering. Neutered dogs are less aggressive, less likely to roam free and will not be able to produce further litters. If Local Authorities neutered the dogs in their care BEFORE releasing them back to their homes or to new homes, this would be one way of tackling the over-breeding problem. In the same way, if they are alerted to back-yard breeders, they should be given powers to neuter these animals once it is clear they are being bred as status dogs.

Thank you for your time.

April 2013