House of Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee Dog Control and Welfare Written Evidence Only those submissions, written specifically for the Committee and accepted by the Committee as evidence for the inquiry Dog Control and Welfare are included. List of written evidence 1 Linda Buxton 4 2 Claire Horton-Bussey 6 3 Jolanda Hill DVM, MRCVS 7 4 Animal Wardens 8 5 Anna-Lisa Browne, The Dog House 10 6 Carol Fowler, Dog Health Campaigner 12 7 Local Government Association 16 8 Janetta Bensouilah 19 9 The Northern Centre for Canine Behaviour 20 10 Diane Foreman 24 11 Essex Animal Welfare Forum (EAWF) 26 12 Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council 29 13 Chris Laurence 32 14 Countryside Alliance 36 15 National Dog Warden Association 41 16 Mr & Mrs Sainsbury 44 17 Mrs Louise Haig 49 18 Anonymous Contributor 50 19 Maria Burke 51 20 Mary Davis 52 21 Sophie Zoghbi 53 22 Barbara Sheringham 55 23 Animal Behaviour and Training Council 56 24 RSPCA 58 25 David Ward 63 26 Gary Miller 65 27 Angela Kennedy 66 28 Jaqi Bunn 70 29 Dartmoor Livestock Protection Society (DLPS) 73 30 Felicity Lynch 75 31 Mandy Dumont 77 32 Blue Cross 78 33 Canine Action UK 82 34 Anonymous Contributor 84 35 Simon JR Adams BSc. BVMS. MRCVS. Veterinarian and Welfare Adviser 86 36 Naomi Mignone 91 37 Greater Merseyside Dog Welfare Forum 92 38 Dr Kasia Szpakowska 94 39 Universities Federation for Animal Welfare 96 40 Guide Dogs for the Blind Association 97 41 Companion Animal Welfare Council (CAWC) 101 42 British Association for Shooting and Conservation 103 42 Supplementary British Association for Shooting and Conservation 104 43 TailwaggersClub Trust 105 44 Care and Respect Includes All Dogs Campaign 108 45 Dog's Trust 114 46 National Animal Welfare Trust 118 47 Laraine Malvern 121 48 Puppy Love Campaigns 123 49 Patricia James 125 50 British Veterinary Association and the British Small Animal Veterinary Association 128 51 Association of Chief Police Officers 133 52 Amanda Roche 139 53 The Kennel Club 140 54 COAPE Association of Pet Behaviourists and Trainers 145 55 Defra 151,238 56 Royal Veterinary College’s VetCompass Project 153 57 Endangered Dogs Defence & Rescue Ltd 156 58 Philippa Robinson 160 59 Emma Judson 162 60 Richard Zakss 165 61 Jessica Thomas-Day 167 62 City Remembrancer 169 63 Frances Ellis and Margaret Brady, Animals in Need 171 64 Battersea Dogs & Cats Home 174 65 Charlotte Faulkner 182 66 Lucy Riggs 183 67 Miss Hayley Parr 184 68 Mayor of London 185 69 Anonymous Contributor 186 70 Wood Green, The Animals Charity 188 71 National Farmers Union (NFU) 191 72 Advisory Council on the Welfare Issues of Dog Breeding 195 73 Scottish Government 198 74 Minister for Agriculture & Rural Development Northern Ireland 202 75 Communication Workers Union (CWU) 211 76 Dogs Today Magazine 227 77 Stephan Toth 229 78 The Welsh Assembly 231 79 Barry Faust 232 80 David Ward 233 81 Dachshund Breed Council 234 4 Written evidence submitted by Linda Buxton, Leigh Dogs and Cats Home 1. Dog Control a) Is there a need for a more fundamental overhaul of dog legislation, and its enforcement, including that relating to dog attacks on people, livestock and pets? There is a need for a more fundamental overhaul of dog legislation and its enforcement - there needs to be much more information given to the general public about the legislation and also more actual use of the enforcement , at present although in place it only seem s to used when a serious incident occurs. The emphasis needs to be on educating the dog owning public and making them aware of the legislation maybe through the media. b) Is sufficient action being taken on pets raised as status dogs to ensure their welfare and reduce their impact on communities? No - the problem is that a lot of the people who have status dogs will not comply and conform with any legislation, it should be law that these dogs should be neutered so that they are not able to breed with them. c) Will compulsory microchipping of puppies improve dog welfare and help prevent dog attacks at an affordable cost to dog owners? Should a dog licensing scheme also be considered? Compulsory microchipping of all puppies is a very good idea as it should make people more responsible for their dogs and their actions if they know that they will be accountable. However, I do not feel that it will prevent dog attacks. The problem with micro chipping is that when a dog changes hands the microchip details are not changed, the public need to be made aware that the ID chip details must be changed when they adopt a new pet and that ultimately the person who the dog is chipped to is the legal owner and responsible for the welfare of the dog. Dog Licensing is a very good idea used in conjunction with ID chipping, however licenses should be issued but suitably qualified persons who are specially trained end work in the welfare industry i.e. at animal homes & vet practices (similar to SQP for sale of Horse wormers; Dog Wormers etc). d) Should the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 be extended to include offences committed on private property? No e) Are Defra’s proposals for wider community and educational approaches to support responsible dog ownership sufficiently ambitious? Yes f) Do local authorities, the police and animal welfare charities have the right roles in managing stray dogs under the current legislative regime? No - local authorities do but the Police and Welfare organisations do not tend to get involved with stray dogs usually because of budget constraints. 2. Dog Welfare 5 a) Has the response by dog breeders and the veterinary profession been effective? No - the problem is that anybody can breed a litter of pups from any bitch over 6 months of age without being registered as a dog breeder. This is the most likely avenue breeding illegal dogs and irresponsible dog breeding as they are not rehomed correctly thus exalting all the other problems. b) What actions should Government take to address these issues? Make it illegal for anybody to breed puppies - if a member of the public has a pregnant bitch it should be reported to the local authority wardens who could then visit them to give advice as necessary and make the puppies are ID chipped and suitably rehomed and also give advice about neutering. c) Are further controls required on dog breeders, including puppy farms, and those selling or importing dogs to ensure the welfare of bitches and puppies? If all puppies had be id chipped before leaving the breeder this would stop irresponsible breeders who don’t want to abide by rules and regulations and also keep track of all imported dogs and status dogs. It may also make it not cost effective for puppy farms to continue. The problem with all of the above is that we have to have a body that will police them otherwise it will all be a waste of time. It would not be difficult to set up a body to police it all but it needs to be done properly from the start with a suitable budget to enable it to be done efficiently. May 2012 6 Written evidence submitted by Claire Horton-Bussey Amongst many other threads that you will no doubt examine (puppy farmers, lack of health testing in pedigree dogs etc), backyard breeders really need to be regulated. There are so many people living on benefits or low incomes who see dog breeding as a nice little earner. You only have to look at all the local For Sale sites on Facebook or on Gumtree to see that people are breeding whatever they can get their hands on - cats, dogs, reptiles etc, even swapping breeding animals for games consoles etc. They have no concern for the animals they are breeding, do not health test etc, and no doubt do not pay tax on what they are earning! 7 Written evidence submitted by Jolanda Hill DVM, MRCVS I would like to bring to your attention that microchipping all dogs (and cats) is a good measure, provided that at the time of microchipping the true name and address of the owner is being submitted on the microchip registration. At this time, nobody checks if the details the owner submits to register their pet's microchip are valid. Especially people who keep animals for the wrong reasons (e.g. dog fighting etc) would, when microchipping becomes compulsory, avoid all consequences by submitting wrong contact details. Apart from the initial microchipping registration it is sad to see when we do try to reunite an animal with its owner, how often the contact details relating to the microchip have not been kept up-to-date, thereby almost completely negating the advantage of having a microchip placed in the first place. If microchipping vets and others have to do more in depth verifying of the submitted details for registering a chip, then I would suggest you prepare 'best practice' guidelines on how to implement this. If we can't make sure the chip is registered to a valid owner and address, then all efforts and costs to implement this scheme will be wasted. Quite possibly somebody in the committee had realised this already, in which case apologies for wasting your time. May 2012 8 Written evidence submitted by Animal Wardens Ltd Animal Wardens We get involved with 25,000 found, lost, straying, abandoned, dumped and dangerous dogs each year. Dogs Deserve Better We believe as a principle: dog ownership should carry enforceable responsibilities that are enforced by Government Agencies who have a duty to do so.