LTB 742/10 - DUNDEE DOG ATTACK

[brothermagrew]

LTB No. 742/10 Ref P18/10 Date: 31st August 2010

To: All Postal Branches

Dear Colleagues

PRESS RELEASE: Dundee Dog Attack - Postal Workers Union demands Action from PM (CWU 'Bite-Back' Campaign)

The Communication Workers Union that represents the UK's Postal Workers has spoken out after the horrific attack by two Rottweiler dogs on 10-year-old Rhianna Kidd who was badly mauled in Dundee yesterday.

Six Thousand Postal Workers are attacked by Dogs every year in the UK and also around 400 telephone engineers on house visits are bitten annually.

The Union launched its "Bite-Back" Campaign in 2008 following two near-fatal dog attacks on postal workers. The campaign has led to new Laws in Scotland and Northern Ireland due to be introduced in 2011 and the CWU is currently pressing David Cameron and Nick Clegg's coalition government for new laws to be introduced in Westminster for England and Wales. A coalition of 20 groups of animal charities and leading trade unions - lead by the Communication Workers Union which includes the RSPCA, TUC, Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, Guide Dogs For The Blind, Dogs Trust and the Police Federation last week issued a joint statement demanding action against irresponsible dog owners, arguing that current legislation was "inadequate". In the same week the CWU and the rest of the group joined with the Greater London Authority Deputy Mayor Kit Malthouse, Chair of the Metropolitan Police Authority to launch a Dangerous Dogs Petition to the Coalition government on the irresponsible owners of Dangerous Dogs. The joint statement has been sent to Prime Minister David Cameron, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and acting leader of the Opposition Harriet Harman.

PRESS RELEASE

“Dave Joyce National Health and Safety officer for the CWU, sent the best wishes of the 250,000 strong CWU to Rhiana and her family and said "This is yet another tragic case of a young victim suffering horrific injuries and being lucky to survive. Dog control is becoming a more pressing problem in response to the growing concern over public safety. We believe that irresponsible dog ownership must be addressed. The Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 has attracted notoriety as a primary example of flawed legislation. It has proved to be inadequate in many cases to ensure sufficient protection for children, Postal Workers and the public. We and many others want to see a new law which applies everywhere, extending the coverage of the 1991 Act to any place rather than just public places. We also want to see new preventative measures through a new regime of dog control orders, which will enable police and local authorities dog wardens to impose a range of control requirements on the dog owner where that person has failed to keep the dog under proper control. Where failure to comply occurs, dog control notices will provide a range of sanctions, including harsher court penalties, removal or destruction of the dog and disqualification from ownership and keeping an animal. A well resourced, rigorous enforcement regime and effective penalties for reckless owners is also badly needed. There are now 10 million dogs in the UK. Around half a million people are bitten or attacked by dogs each year, but there are fewer than 650 convictions annually. It is no good having a repaired economy if you can't walk in the street or the park or deliver the mail without fear. We've called on the coalition Government to act and bring forward legislation that addresses these areas effectively."

ENDS.

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The above Press Release has been issued following the attack on Sunday. Tayside Police have charged the owner with a Dangerous Dogs Act
offence and the two dogs were destroyed on Monday.


Yours Sincerely

Dave Joyce
National Health, Safety & Environment Officer