DDA Watch Statement - EFRA Committee Inquiry Report:

The EFRA Committee have published their Report - Dangerous Dogs legislation fails to protect the public while harming animal welfare - the EFRA Committee Report calls for a full-scale review of current dog control legislation and policy to better protect the public.

DDA Watch welcomes the EFRA detailed report and we support the recommendations made to government. This is a positive step forward which we hope will lead to much needed reform in current dog legislation and policy which we will continue to campaign for.

DDA Watch volunteers have been working on the front-line for many years helping innocent dogs and their carers who have been torn apart by breed specific legislation and we have been consistently campaigning and raising awareness on the issues; promoting desperately needed-evidence based changes which will better protect dogs and people alike.

The EFRA Committee have drilled down on many aspects of the current situation and exposed enormous flaws in the present approach of breed specific legislation (BSL) which has no scientific basis or logic.

We wholeheartedly agree that the government should not continue to sit on its hands and that changing the law on BSL is desirable, achievable and would better protect the public.

A lack of action from the government does indeed show a disregard for dog welfare and also a total failure to better protect the public.

DDA Watch supplied evidence to the EFRA Committee and we feel that the committee have thoroughly examined many of the points raised and supporting evidence in a fair and common-sense manner, one of our concerns was regarding the severe and cruel restriction regarding the rehoming of dogs deemed ‘type’, an issue we have hands-on experience with and we urge the government to take immediate action regarding this, as recommended by the EFRA Committee, and to remove the prohibition on transferring banned breeds to new carers in order that innocent dogs can be safely re-homed.

DDA Watch has always maintained that education is vital and fully supports the recommendation for the government to facilitate childhood education programmes in respect of dog safety and awareness-raising campaigns to encourage responsible ownership and safe human-dog interaction amongst owners and the general public.

DDA Watch LTD

October 2018

DDA Watch Ltd is a not-for-profit company, registered in England & Wales, registration number 7393352.

Care has been taken to ensure that our information is correct. The information and advice given by DDA Watch is for general purposes and is intended for guidance only, it does not constitute legal advice. The information and opinions expressed should not be relied on or used as a substitute for legal advice, if you require details concerning your rights, legal advice or find yourself affected by legislation it is recommended that you seek professional legal advice. 

Information given is for England and Wales only. Legislation in Scotland and N.Ireland may differ.