Ennvironment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee Written evidence submitted by Dr Anne McBride

I am writing with respect to the proposed changes to the law on dangerous dogs. I am a animal behaviour counsellor, and act as an expert witness in criminal and civil cases relating to dog behaviour. I am a member of the Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellors and of the UK Registry of Canine Behaviourists. My comments below are brief as requested, I am however, happy to provide further oral or written evidence if required.

(a)Extending the law to private property

I suggest that this is restricted only to aggravated offences.

If reasonable apprehension is included there is a lot of scope for mis-use, due to:

either people not understanding dog language… for example the dog that barks in greeting, or the dog that growls in warning. The dog that growls is giving appropriate warning signals that will only lead to injury if the person does not respond appropriately;

or people using this to “get at neighbours” for example.

(b)It is important that education of owners, public and professionals is intrinsic in the law. This would include veterinary, health and social work professionals to thus be able to advice parents and dog owners alike.

(c)Education of children regarding how to behave around dogs should be an intrinsic part of education, at primary and secondary level. This in conjunction with materials directed at parents would significantly reduce dog injuries. There are several useful sets of such material already developed, see eg The Blue Dog for under 5’s and Keeping Ourselves Safe Near Dogs (free teachers resource for secondary education level) http://asab.nottingham.ac.uk/education/

(d)It is imperative that there is some form of guidance, if not legislation regarding appropriate avenues of advice. There is a lot of inappropriate advice regarding dog behaviour and training which serves to cause or exacerbate aggressive behaviour in dogs. Currently there is no legislation regarding the professionalism of trainers. See Companion Animal Welfare Council (2008) report on the Regulation of companion animal services in relation to training and behaviour modification of dogs http://www.cawc.org.uk/080603.pdf

The Animal Behaviour and Training Council is in the process of producing educational requirements for dog trainers and dog training instructors with the aim of reducing the influence of such ill-informed trainers. It would be a major step forward to direct all to an appropriate source of help and training. http://www.abtcouncil.org.uk/

(e)It should be understood that many owners who have dogs that show aggressive behaviours are not irresponsible, but are mis-informed. Hence point d above.

(f)Law enforcement officers must be trained in dog language. Dogs do not know who is a legal or illegal “intruder”; it is inappropriate that many dogs are seized simply because they behave in the same way to police for example entering property as they would to a burglar.

(g)Such dogs are not necessarily dangerous to the public and early, independent and informed assessment is required for these and all dogs.

(h)Dogs that are charged or seized for aggressive behaviour should be accessible to independent, trained assessors within 72 hours of seizure, at the place at which they are being kept in order for essential behavioural evidence to be collected thereby providing for natural justice and animal welfare. Please see report given to APGAW December 2012 by Dr Anne McBride and Kendal Shepherd, also attached.

(i)In incidents of prosecution ALL evidence must be taken and provided to both sides, including history of the dogs, trainers used and training methods, and how the dog was handled during and post seizure. This needs to be assessed by an appropriately knowledgeable independent person.

(j)There is a need for a register of independent expert dog behaviour assessors that can be called on to assess the dog post seizure/charge, gather any additional evidence and write an expert report which is accessible for both the CPS and Defence and, should prosecution be taken, the report would also be available for the Courts. This process would speed up the assessment of evidence by CPS, and shorten court time, reduce stress to dogs, owners and victims alike and thereby reduce cost to the public purse.

Persons on this register should be contacted by the police at time of/within 24 hours of the incident so timely assessment of the dogs can be done, which can then be incorporated as part of the overall evidence of the incident, and other relevant factors when that is gathered.

(k)Those that keep seized dogs should be required to be educated in how to seize and keep dogs in such a manner as to meet the requirements of the Animal Welfare Act regarding psychological health, in ways that do not compromise human safety. This is currently not the case in all holding establishments.

April 2013