Deed Not Breed, some common sense at last !

Crossposting this piece, finally it seems the penny is dropping regarding the relevent laws which currently wrongly target innocent dogs and owners instead of the irresponsible elements :

"Police back new law on killer dogs


Move to target irresponsible owners, not breeds, after death of five-year-old Ellie Lawrenson

Jamie Doward, home affairs editor
Sunday May 13, 2007
The Observer


One of Britain's most senior police officers has demanded a change to the law on dangerous dogs so that children are better protected.
The Chief Constable of Merseyside Police - the force that investigated the death of five-year-old Ellie Lawrenson, who was mauled by a pit bull terrier on New Year's Day - said that the present legislation was confused and needed to be overhauled.

Bernard Hogan-Howe said he had reached the decision after talking to other chief constables. 'In consultation with partners, other police forces and the Association of Chief Police Officers, we would now welcome a considered and thoughtful review of the current legislation,' he said.


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His intervention is likely to be interpreted as providing tacit backing for new rules that would target the owners of dangerous dogs rather than the animals themselves. Animal welfare groups say that at present many responsible owners have their pets put down needlessly. Hogan-Howe is understood to back moves that would allow such owners to apply for their dogs to be exempted from the banned dogs list without the need for police or court involvement.
This is likely to be welcomed by the Kennel Club, which has campaigned for legislation based on 'deed not breed'.

The call comes as Ellie's uncle awaits sentence on Wednesday for owning the banned animal that killed the five-year-old. Kiel Simpson, 23, pleaded guilty to owning the American pit bull called Reuben, which was later shot dead by police. His lawyer maintains that a prison term would achieve nothing as Simpson 'is already serving a life sentence' following the tragedy.

The little girl's death prompted a national debate over the ownership of dangerous dogs. It also highlighted serious flaws in the 1991 Dangerous Dogs Act - which bans only four breeds, including the American pit bull, and does not cover many similarly aggressive breeds.

The confusion saw hundreds of people in the Merseyside area hand in their dogs to police during an amnesty amid concerns they might be prosecuted. Hogan-Howe said that over a seven-day period in February police received 600 calls and looked at 461 dogs. 'As a result there are now 200 fewer illegal dangerous dogs in Merseyside,' he said.

But following intervention by the Kennel Club, which represents dog owners in Britain, a number of animals that police had classed as American pit bulls were later released and placed on the Index of Exempted Dogs, a register that allows owners to keep the animals providing they are microchipped, neutered and muzzled. As of September last year, there were 1,067 pit bull terriers and three American Staffordshire terriers on the register, which campaigners for a reform of the law say highlights the continuing confusion surrounding the Dangerous Dogs Act.

'The definition of what constitutes an American pit bull is a grey area,' said a Kennel Club spokeswoman. 'Pit bulls have certain traits but in the hands of responsible owners they would not be a danger. The act hasn't worked; it's failed to prevent a significant number of attacks.'

The RSPCA has also been a vocal critic of the current law. Statistics show that only around half of prosecutions brought under the act are successful. 'We find the Dangerous Dogs Act unworkable,' said an RSPCA spokesman. 'We don't believe certain types are more dangerous than others. It's extremely difficult to prove in court whether a dog is an American pit bull. There are only one or two people in the country who have the ability to prove it.' "

Finally!!!!!

At last the penny drops!
Becky

At last someone with some sense thank goodness.

Finally! and about time too!

hooray some sensible thinking at last about bloody time too

Just seen this, about time! :smt038

excellent news! about time someone realised it's not the breed! was reading on a different forum that when the amnesty was on in mersyside someone tried to hand their dog in as it was dangerous but because it wasn't of type they wouldn't accept it? wheres the sense in that?