NEW DOG LAWS WILL AFFECT YOU.

MAKE SURE YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT IT MEANS FOR YOU.

The following extract has been taken from The Dog Business Academy web site.
I received this information in an email to me.
I think it is of interest to everyone involved in some way with dogs and so I am sharing it with you. In Scotland we have slightly different laws including dog Control Notices. But if you are visiting England, as a lot of us do as we travel to various meetings and events with our dogs, then this will apply to you. 
The UK government has announced plans for tougher dog laws after recent high profile dog attacks.
These laws will affect you whether you own a dog, working with dogs or have dogs in your care.  It will certainly guide your focus for dog training, either your own or others.
Ministers are looking to extend the scope of the law to enable a prosecution to be brought against anyone whose dog injures someone or acts aggressively in a private place, as well as a public place.  Such as a home where they are permitted to be.

It’s against the law to let a dog be dangerously out of control.  You dog is considered dangerously out of control if it:
    • Causes injury to someone

    • Makes someone worried that it might cause them injury

    • Injures someone’s animal
    • The owner of the animal thinks they could be injured if they tried to stop the dog attacking their animal

                                New UK Dog Law 2014
With the new sentencing guidelines in 2012 it was expected that more offenders would face jail sentences, more will get community orders, however, the UK government are getting tougher.
They have now announced plans to increase the sentence for owners of dogs who are involved in fatal attacks to a maximum of 14 years in prison and owners whose dog causes injury or kills a guide dog can expect to face up to 3 years in jail.


Any injury caused by your dog to another person may result in a criminal charge of aggravated injury. NOTE: This can even be a small bit or puncture wound, a scratch or a bruise even if it is from a fall.
This will result in a criminal record, a large fine and possibly a prison sentence and will impact your career if your job relies on you having a clean criminal record.
Note:  Dog to dog injuries will normally first be dealt with in the Magistrates Court or as a civil case or in the small claims court. Does not normally result in a criminal record or prison
Your garden and car (when not parked in your garage) will now be classed as public access space.  Even a trespasser in these areas will be protected by the new laws.  The only people who will not be protected by these laws is a trespasser in your home.  Not clear what constitutes a home, only by courts making decisions will this be clarified.
A person in your home legitimately is protected by the new laws and can lead to a criminal charge if injured by your dog.
The law says all dogs must have a collar with identification on it which includes your name and address, even if it is tattooed or microchipped.   It is also advisable to have your telephone number, preferably a mobile number.
In 2016 you will also be required by law to have your dog microchipped.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

WHAT IS THE BEST DOG FOOD?

Are you aware of what it is your feeding your dog when you feed it branded dog food? The commercial production of canning meat and cereal food for dogs began in the 1930’s by the Chappel brothers. Since then a lot has changed and legislation has been introduced to regulate and provide rules and guidance to the industry to help them fulfill their obligations to make safe pet food. www.pfma.org According to the Pet Food Manufacturers Association the Pet Food Industry is “responsible, efficient and at the forefront of Technology.” The key statement in this article for me however is, “This means that it can minimize the use of resources whilst maximizing the safety standards.” If you look at the PFMA web site it is worth noting that it has many articles about Legislation, Sourcing of Raw Materials and Animal By Product Regulations. On the face of it the industry does seem to be a responsible industry. However the devil is in the detail and just like human foods there is good
Read more

ANOTHER DOG ATTACK

        Yet another child’s life lost as a result of a dog attack. The latest is a baby only days old, attacked in its home by a huge dog, an Alaskan Malamute. This breed was originally bred to pull sleds in the arctic region. The males can grow to just under 40 kilos. The breed are reputed to be fond of people and children making them ideal house dogs. They bond quickly with their owners are intelligent but can sometimes be difficult to train. They are great with children old enough to play with them. So what went wrong? Reading more into the story it turns out this particular dog was ‘acquired’ by it’s owner from someone in a pub. The previous owner was going to have it put down, and the new owner was a dog lover and no doubt thought he was doing the right thing by saving it from being put to sleep. There is no information on why the previous owner was considering having it put down. Was it being ill-treated ? Had it already bitten? Did the new owner get a full history of the animal
Read more

PREPERATION FOR A NEW ARRIVAL

Image
Our house has been blessed with a new arrival in the last few months. My new grandson has moved in just as he’s starting to move around. Its been some 20 odd years since our house had a wee one crawling around the floor, getting into everything, picking things up etc. We had let our house become child unfriendly. Despite knowing he was coming we hadn't really prepared properly. So I was intrigued when an article appeared in the August issue of Your Dog about how owners go about preparing, selecting and bringing in a new puppy to their house. The emphasis of the article was more related to what research owners put in prior to getting a puppy. the article was written based on research carried out by Adaptil - The pheromone calming product range for dogs. The research took the form of a survey of 2000 puppy owners and some of the questions and answers were very interesting. 1 in 10 people thought that getting a new puppy was just like raising a child. 59% admitted that they wer
Read more