Report to the NSW Department of Local Government on breed specific legislation isues relating to control of dangerous dogs
Summary
Management of the issues associated with dangerous dogs is a significant issue for regulatory agencies worldwide. The NSW Companion Animals Act 1998 is a well thought through and practical legislative approach to the problemMany countries and some Australian States including NSW have introduced restrictions and/or bans on specific breeds of dogs. Overseas experience has revealed that breed specific legislation has failed to improve the incidence of dog attacks and dog bites. The purpose of this report is to provide an independent review of the issues relating to control of dangerous dogs in NSW, the performance of breed specific legislation in overseas jurisdictions and any implications for the provisions of the NSW Companion Animals Act 1998.
Examination of reports from overseas countries reveals that data on the performance of breed specific legislation is relatively scarce. The UK has data on dog attacks and dog bites pre and post implementation of breed specific legislation. There was no difference in the incidence of dog bites with 73% of all bites requiring medical attention being due to dogs both before and after implementation of the legislation. Data available for other countries also demonstrates that the proportion of dog attacks and bites caused by the restricted breeds was very low prior to introducing the legislation so the likely impact was always going to be minimal.
All breeds of dogs have a proportion of individual dogs that are aggressive towards humans. Control and management of known aggressive dogs is the way to effectively manage the problem. The data presented in this report supports this approach. It is recommended that the Division of the Act dealing with restricted dogs be removed. Some minor suggestions for amendments to the definition of a dangerous dog and controls that may be applied have been included in the report. Education of dog owners and more intensive enforcement of the Companion Animals Act 1998 are seen as important methods for improving compliance with the Act.
In summary the NSW Companion Animals Act 1998 is comprehensive in the way it deals
with the dangerous dog issue and with the amendments I have suggested would form an
excellent legislative model for regulation associated with companion animals.