Dogs SCRUTINY COMMISSION
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b Dogs SCRUTINY COMMISSION AGENDA Date and Time: Wednesday, 14 th October 7 pm Venue: Room 101, Lambeth Town Hall, Brixton Hill, SW2 1 RW Scrutiny Officer contact: Scrutiny Team Byron R. Green London Borough of Lambeth ( 020 792 62510 Lambeth Town Hall, Brixton Hill Email: [email protected] London, SW2 1RW Website: www.lambeth.gov.uk Despatched: Thursday, 7 th October 2009 COMMISSION MEMBERS: Councillors DIANA BRAITHWAITE, DAVID MALONE, IMOGEN WALKER and CLARE WHELAN PAGE 2 AGENDA Dogs Scrutiny Commission PLEASE NOTE THAT THE ORDER OF THE AGENDA MAY BE CHANGED AT THE MEETING 1. INTRODUCTIONS AND APOLOGIES 2. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST 3. Welcome and discussion with external witnesses Response from Battersea Dogs and Cats Home Page 4 Scott Craddock, BDCH Director of Operations (Customer Services) Rob Jervis-Gibbons, BDCH Policy Officer Response from RSPCA, Chief Inspector Mark Miles Not yet Written response from Steve Pinner, MPS Strategic received Dogs Unit (unfortunately Steve has had to apologise) 4. Update on information requested at last meeting Confirmation that the revised tenancy conditions apply to all existing tenants as well as new tenants? Members briefing: Dogs, dog fouling, and control of Page 10 dogs Bye-laws for pleasure grounds etc Circulated separately 5. Animal Welfare Charter Page 14 Dave Bright, Head of Environmental Health 6. Microchipping and Scanning Page 23 Are the policies and processes for scanning microchips in place and are the right people properly resourced to complement the policy of encouraging their use. 7. General discussion Survey responses summary Still being processed 8. Preliminary recommendations and final members discussion to be agreed. Background documents: Tower Hamlets and neutering – Page 23 Vets get scanning appeal – Page 30 Neutering – Page 31 RSPCA CAWF awards Page 33 PAGE 3 Bye-laws for pleasure grounds – separate file PAGE 4 Dogs Scrutiny Commission Terms of Reference Terms of reference • To provide an avenue for public engagement and consultation in Lambeth around issues arising from dogs, including status dogs. • To understand the existing level of service, how it is organised, and the current proposals • To add value to the work already underway in the Safer Lambeth Partnership. • To investigate service provision elsewhere • A look at good practice locally such as an RSL and in the local community • To seek guidance from experts in the field • The commission should also focus on anti-social behaviour due to dogs, the prevention of animal cruelty, dealing with strays, preventing abandonment, examine how to support responsible owners, and promote responsible dog ownership . [Areas for questioning to include: What about the pet register? Sanctions? Enforcement? Changing ownership and micro-chipping. Examine Islington and Wandsworth policies – what would you change about them for Lambeth?] • To identify what is necessary for an fit for purpose service that can deal effectively with dogs and to develop recommendations in order to facilitate this. Potential outcome/s • A fit for purpose service • Ensuring a strong lead and joined-up approach to the delivery of the strategy on dogs. What will not be • Dog fouling will not be a major focus of this report. included PAGE 5 b Scott Craddock, Operations Director (Customer Services) Rob Jervis-Gibbons, Policy Officer Battersea Dogs and Cats Home 4 Battersea Park Road London SW8 4AA Lambeth Dogs Scrutiny Commission Questionnaire: 1. In your professional view does Lambeth currently have a problem with stray- dogs, dog related crime and anti-social behaviour involving dogs? For example the problem may include Dangerous Dogs Act Offences, organised dog fighting, the use of dogs as weapons, the use of dogs in organised crime, anti-social behaviour (including dog-fouling) or importantly dog cruelty offences. The list is not intended to be exhaustive. Please explain your answer. For example, what is the extent of the problem and what sort of problems or offences are we now seeing in Lambeth? Is the problem(s) you identify getting better or worse? Battersea Dogs & Cats Home (BDCH) is a charity that aims never to turn away a dog or cat in need of our help. We reunite lost dogs and cats with their owners and when we are unable to do this we care for them until new homes can be found for them. We operate an open intake policy, one that is becoming increasingly rare in the animal welfare sector. We accept dogs without prejudice and regardless of their history, breed, temperament or health status. Lambeth has significant stray dog problems that need to be addressed. In 2008 Lambeth topped the list of London boroughs in terms of number of stray dogs received at BDCH. The Home has seen an increase in stray dog arrivals from Lambeth each year since 2006 as follows: 2006 196 dogs 2007 270 dogs 2008 340 dogs Alarmingly a large proportion of these stray dogs are brought in by members of the public as there appears to be a far more limited provision for stray dog control in Lambeth as opposed to other London boroughs. In fact by operating only a 9-5 Monday-Friday service, Lambeth now offers residents less of a stray dog control Dogs Commission PAGE 6 service than when responsibility was jointly shared with the Met Police (pre 06 April 2008). This is borne out in our figures as follows: 2006 82 strays handed in by members of public 2007 127 strays 2008 186 strays So far in 2009 we have taken in 186 stray dogs from Lambeth (39 via the borough’s animal warden, 31 from the police and 116 from the public). It is very concerning to still see far higher numbers of strays being handed in from members of the public, and such a large increase since 2006. This effectively amounts to a position where members of the public and BDCH are, by default, expected to plug the gap left by Lambeth’s limited stray control service. The following is a breakdown by postcode of the origin of strays brought in by members of the public in Lambeth so far this year: SE1 2 dogs SE11 9 SW8 17 SW4 11 SW12 1 SE4 0 SE5 5 SE21 1 SW16 8 SE19 2 SW9 28 SW2 19 SE27 13 Total 116 Of these 116 dogs, 36 were received during office hours (mon-fri 0900-1700) and 80 were received out of hours. The following is a breakdown by police station of the strays that have arrived via Met Police in Lambeth so far this year: Brixton 13 dogs Kennington 5 Streatham 10 Clapham 2 Gipsy Hill 1 Total 31 PAGE 7 2. Are you able to cite any particular experiences or cases you have dealt with and the lessons that can be learnt from these experiences or cases? We appreciate that the answer to this question may not be a matter for public consumption and we will without hesitation respect confidentiality and anonymity. BDCH is taking greater responsibility for the care and welfare of out of hours stray dogs from Lambeth than the local authority itself. With its limited stray service, the local authority is unaware of the majority of stray dog cases, relying on BDCH to not only receive such dogs, but to document such cases and to pay for such dogs’ care/upkeep. 3. In your professional view, how seriously are problems and cases treated by the Council, Crown Prosecution Service, Metropolitan Police Service, the Court and other agencies involved? As an animal welfare charity we work very closely with all our stakeholders in order to provide advice and assistance when appropriate and promote responsible ownership. BDCH welcomes Lambeth’s commitment to an animal welfare charter, however we would like to see this commitment backed up by support for a more robust stray service aimed at tackling the large numbers of stray dogs that appear to originate from the borough, as well as supporting much needed work on responsible pet ownership and animal welfare in general. 4. What, in your experience, is the range of sentences typically handed out to offenders? The Home has no statutory responsibilities, it would be inappropriate for us to comment on this matter. 5. What preventative and/or enforcement measures, if any, do you believe should be taken to resolve any problems? Who bears the responsibility for implementing such measures in Lambeth? The Clean Neighbourhoods & Environment Act (CNEA) 2005 passed all responsibility for stray dogs from the Police to Local Authorities. We would expect Lambeth to be taking more of a lead on stray dog issues, given that we received the highest number of strays from the borough in 2008. We would expect the Council to continue to work closely with stakeholders in order to tackle the issues of dangerous dogs, criminal activity, status dogs and banned breeds. Dogs Commission PAGE 8 6. Is there enough legislation to deal with dog-related problems? There are currently 15-20 live Acts of Parliament on dog control. The Home is lobbying for a complete review of the current legislation, some of which dates from 1839. In what ways can Lambeth Council better lead or assist the Court, Metropolitan Police Service Police, Crown Prosecution Service, the RSPCA, Battersea Dogs and Cats Home and other agencies in dealing with any problems? BDCH welcomes Lambeth’s commitment to an Animal Welfare Charter and its recognition for a stray dog service. However in saying this we would urge you to reconsider the hours of operation. Only a 24hr service provision for stray dogs would fully demonstrate a long-term commitment to the statement that the “The Council supports all current animal welfare legislation”. Lambeth’s proposal to offer only a weekday 9am-5pm service would represent a more limited service than that offered prior to CNEA implementation, when the police handled out of hours strays, and would be one of the most limited services of all London boroughs.