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Dog owners could be sent to prison if they let their pet kill another dog

Under the proposals a person would have to take ‘all reasonable steps’ to ensure their animal does not kill another dog - Matthew C. Wright/Moment RF
Under the proposals a person would have to take ‘all reasonable steps’ to ensure their animal does not kill another dog - Matthew C. Wright/Moment RF

Dog owners who let their pet kill another dog could be sent to prison for the first time after a Government minister backed plans to toughen up animal protection laws.

Lord Benyon has lent his support in principle to proposals from Anna Firth, a Tory MP, to make owners criminally liable for fatal dog-on-dog attacks.

Under the legal change, a person would have to take “all reasonable steps” to ensure their animal does not kill another dog.

If they allow a fatal attack to occur, Ms Firth is calling for them to face up to six months in prison.

Lord Benyon, the animal welfare minister, said the Department for Environment and Rural Affairs would back the MP’s plans to criminalise fatal dog-on-dog attacks, subject to checks by officials and cross-government approval.

Ms Firth, whose team has been working on the proposals for more than a year, said it was “really exciting” to get Government support.

She stressed that the aim of the change is to encourage responsible ownership, rather than “demonising” the dogs themselves.

As it stands, there is no legislation specifically criminalising dog-on-dog attacks. However it is an offence for owners to allow their dog to be dangerously out of control.

This is generally deemed to be when there is “reasonable apprehension” that the animal will injure a person or assistance dog, with no specific safeguards for ordinary pets.

Up to six months in prison

Ms Firth would seek to tighten up the law by making it an offence to allow any dog-on-dog attacks that result in an animal’s death.

The crime would be punishable by up to six months in prison, or a fine, or both.

Introducing her Animal Welfare (Responsibility for Dog Attacks) Bill to the Commons on Tuesday, Ms Firth warned that the problem has “skyrocketed” in recent years, with the limited available data suggesting fatal incidents soared between 2016 and 2021.

She said: “Only 14 police forces currently record a dog-on-dog attack as a separate incident. However, of that 14, in 2016, there were 1,700 dog-on-dog attacks reported and recorded.

“Since lockdown, with everyone buying their Covid-19 pandemic puppies, the numbers have skyrocketed. In 2021, the same 14 police forces recorded 11,559 dog-on-dog attacks, a 700 per cent increase.”

Lord Benyon said that his department would help get Ms Firth’s Bill through Parliament, provided it was not found to have any unintended consequences. The mechanics of how this would be achieved are still being discussed.

Lord Benyon told the Telegraph: “We are very supportive of what she’s trying to do. We’d have to look in more detail at the Bill to see whether there were any wider implications, but I think that we’re very sympathetic to people who’ve lost dogs because somebody has not had proper control over their dog.”

He said a Private Member’s Bill is the “classic territory to take this forward”, adding: “Provided that there are no wider implications that our civil servants and legal advisers can’t identify, there’s nothing to stop the Government supporting this as it goes through the process.”

In Sir David Amess’ footsteps

Mark Spencer, the environment minister, also committed on Thursday to sitting down with Ms Firth to “discuss how we can assist” with the Bill going forward.

Lord Benyon added that it was “wonderful” that the MP for Southend West was following in the footsteps of her predecessor, Sir David Amess, a tireless campaigner for animal welfare who was killed in his constituency in 2021.

“There is huge understanding amongst me and my colleagues about the misery that is caused when a dog is torn apart in front of you,” he said.

“The benefits that any pet can bring to somebody, particularly if they lead a solitary life, is immense. And the loss of it can have a huge effect way beyond just losing a pet.

“And so making sure that we have sensible laws that protect people and encourage those with a dog that might be aggressive in this way to manage it, whether they walk it, when they walk it, how they walk it, and recognising that the law will come down on them if they allow their dog to behave in this way.”

Ms Firth started campaigning for the legislative change, which she has branded “Emilie’s law”, after a dog belonging to one of her constituents, Michael Joannou, died from a horrific attack in a local park.

The MP said Mr Joannou came to her “incredibly distressed” and “inconsolable” after Emilie, a eight-year-old bichon frise, was “brutally torn apart” by another dog.

Mr Joannou had been caring for Emilie after her owner, his former girlfriend, died suddenly from epilepsy.

He said the legal change would be justice for the lively, healthy dog who was “cut down in the prime of her life”.

“I really am so impressed with how far this has gone even though it relates to a tragedy,” he told the Telegraph.

“I’m totally overwhelmed by it all. I’m going to go as far as they go and not give up. I remember hearing from somewhere that the greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be measured by the way it treats its animals. Those sort of things are things we should be aware of as the very modern, progressive country that we are.”

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