I'm getting to this issue a little late, but I personally feel it's very important. The Scottish Parliament has recently passed legislation on dangerous dogs. The Private Members Bill was begun by Alex Neil MSP before he became a Minister, and steered expertly through Parliament by Christine Grahame MSP. Info on the background to the Bill can be found here.
The main thrust of the legislation, which amends the 1991 Dangerous Dogs act, is to recognise that any dog can be dangerous and that attacks can and do happen in any location. It also recognises the issue of dogs which seriously harm or kill other animals as well as humans. Incidents range from a bite to the most horrendous cases; it's clear that there needs to be more responsibility taken by owners for their pets, and hopefully this will be a step in the right direction.
The act introduces the so called 'dog asbo', the dog control notice. A person now has the option of reporting an out of control dog should it's behaviour cause reasonable apprehensiveness or alarm. The burden of investigating and enforcing the notice falls to local authorities.
I hope that this legislation is successful in bringing in that change, and I for one will certainly be encouraging all my constituents to report any concerns they have about dogs in their area.
The main thrust of the legislation, which amends the 1991 Dangerous Dogs act, is to recognise that any dog can be dangerous and that attacks can and do happen in any location. It also recognises the issue of dogs which seriously harm or kill other animals as well as humans. Incidents range from a bite to the most horrendous cases; it's clear that there needs to be more responsibility taken by owners for their pets, and hopefully this will be a step in the right direction.
The act introduces the so called 'dog asbo', the dog control notice. A person now has the option of reporting an out of control dog should it's behaviour cause reasonable apprehensiveness or alarm. The burden of investigating and enforcing the notice falls to local authorities.
I hope that this legislation is successful in bringing in that change, and I for one will certainly be encouraging all my constituents to report any concerns they have about dogs in their area.
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