Defra Dangerous Dogs Offences Consultation -Your Help Needed

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Letter to Branches



No. 568 /13
Ref P18
Date: 20 August 2013

To: All Branches

Dear Colleagues

Defra Dangerous Dogs Offences Sentencing Consultation - You Help and Action Needed

As a result of CWU pressure and lobbying of the UK Government, a bill to amend the Dangerous Dogs Act is currently progressing through the Houses of Parliament and we are engaged in discussions with MPs, Committees, Ministers (Defra, Home Office and Justice) and Civil Servants in the shaping of the Legislation and Legal Guidance.

One of several aspects we have campaigned on is the Sentencing of those convicted of Dangerous Dogs Offences. In response to our lobbying and both written and oral evidence submissions the Government have agreed to review the current Maximum prison sentence of 2 years and a public consultation has been launched by Defra to get public feedback before Government makes a final decision.

The Health Safety and Environment Department has made a detailed response to the Consultation and directly to ministers but we now want as many individuals as possible to respond to the Consultation - on-line survey which is a simple, quick to complete, 9 question survey which can be found at the following link:

https://consult.defra.gov.uk/animal-hea ... ces_survey" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This is a public consultation and people are free to respond how they see fit. However, we are seeking support for our views. Therefore the answers we recommend are as follows:-
Q1 Name
Q2 Email Address
Q3 Organisation - You are answering as an individual so leave this blank to ensure that all responses from CWU Reps and members are not grouped together and counted as one response.
Q4 Ans Yes
Q5 Ans Yes ticking all three options/boxes
Q6 Ans 5 years
Q7 Ans 5 years
Q8 Ans 14 years
Q9 Additional comments:
We want to see:-
- Automatic Dog Ownership suspension orders given to those convicted of Dangerous Dogs Offences,
- Dog Control Notices introduced,
- Properly resourced Dog Control enforcement by Police and Local Authorities,
- Substantially increased Compensation Orders given by Courts for Workers injured by Dogs



Your support and assistance is much appreciated.




Yours sincerely


Dave Joyce
National Health, Safety & Environment Officer