Wales action on dangerous dogs shames Westminster, says CWU

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The Communication Workers Union today (Friday) welcomes the launch of the draft Control of Dogs (Wales) Bill which aims to deal with out of control dogs at the earliest point possible and introduce new enforcement mechanisms.

The move to legislate to provide better protection for communities in Wales will leave England as the only part of the United Kingdom without updated dogs laws.

Current laws leave postal workers, telecoms engineers and many other workers without protection as the law does not apply on private property. Up to 5,000 postal workers are attacked by dogs in the UK each year and 70% of those attacks take place on private property.


Billy Hayes, CWU general secretary, said: "We're really pleased that the Welsh government is taking the issue of dog attacks seriously and taking positive action to help prevent dog attacks and deal robustly with irresponsible dog owners.

"England will soon be the only part of the UK without updated dogs laws as Wales is following in the footsteps of Scotland and Northern Ireland by introducing new improved legislation. It shames Westminster that all devolved institutions have taken action on dogs laws while the government has procrastinated and steadfastly refused to act on the issue of dangerous dogs. All this time people continue to suffer serious injuries and lose their lives in dog attacks. Westminster should follow Wales's example and take action to overhaul failing dogs legislation."

CWU has made representations to the Welsh government regarding the shortcomings with current laws with representatives from both Wales and the national union explaining the reality of the laws for postal workers, telecom engineers and other victims of dog attacks. The draft Bill has taken many of these points on board to reflect the needs of CWU members.


Dave Joyce, CWU health, safety and environment officer, added: "The Welsh government is showing that practical steps can be taken where there is the will to improve failing dogs laws. The draft Bill should bring welcome protection to victims of dog attacks and help to raise awareness of the problem which affects hundreds of postal workers in Wales every year. It's now high time that Westminster acted."