Effectiveness Study of the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976
DEFRA RESEARCH CONTRACT: CR0246 June 2001 Effectiveness Study of the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976 A.G. Greenwood MA, VetMB, FIBiol, MRCVS P.A. Cusdin BSc.(Hons), GIBiol, VN M. Radford LLB* International Zoo Veterinary Group, Keighley Business Centre, South Street, Keighley, West Yorkshire BD21 1AG *University of Aberdeen, School of Law, Taylor Building, Old Aberdeen AB24 3UB Executive Summary The Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976 was intended to regulate the keeping of certain kinds of dangerous wild animals in order to protect the public. This review was commissioned to determine the effectiveness of the Act, as currently administered, in achieving its aims. A major component of this review involved a questionnaire based survey of all 410 local authorities in England and Wales. Wide consultation with individuals and organisations with an interest in the Act was also carried out. Control of the Act was transferred in February 1980 from the Home Office to the Department of the Environment (now the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA)). The Schedule to the Act has been modified on a number of occasions; most notably, in 1984, when the Department appeared to change its listing policy to include animals with the potential to be dangerous, without requiring their actual danger to be established. The 1984 Schedule is now considered by many respondents to be out of date; some of the animals included are not perceived to be dangerous by many animal keepers. There have been some changes to the taxonomy of listed animals, and these must be corrected in the Schedule to avoid legal dispute.
[Show full text]