Overview

This bill amends the Animal Welfare Act 2006 to make it an offence for a person in charge of a dog to fail to take reasonable steps to prevent their dog from fatally injuring another dog. It introduces new penalties and requires police to record data on such incidents.

Description

The bill adds a new section (8A) to the Animal Welfare Act 2006. This section makes it an offence if a person in charge of a dog fails to take reasonable steps to prevent their dog from fatally injuring another dog. The definition of "reasonable steps" considers various factors, including:

• Whether the dog was under control (e.g., on a lead).
• Whether the injured dog, or another dog, initiated the aggression.
• Whether a human aggravated or taunted the attacking dog.
• Whether the attacking dog was responding to provocation, and if so, whether reasonable steps were taken to prevent escalation.
• Whether the attacking dog had a known history of aggression, and what steps were taken to mitigate risk.

Penalties for this offence include up to six months imprisonment and/or a fine on summary conviction, or up to three years imprisonment and/or a fine on indictment.

The bill also mandates that police forces record data on offences under this new section, including the number of reports and details of those reports.

The bill applies to England and Wales and will come into force three months after it receives Royal Assent.

Government Spending

The bill is not expected to significantly increase government spending. The main cost will be associated with the police recording data on dog attack offences, though the precise figure is not specified in the bill.

Groups Affected

This bill will primarily affect:

• Dog owners: They will face potential legal penalties if their dog fatally injures another dog and they have not taken reasonable steps to prevent this.
• Police forces: They will have new responsibilities regarding data collection and enforcement.
• Courts: They will be responsible for hearing and adjudicating cases related to offences under the new section of the Act.

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