Gildernew introduces new dog control bill in the Assembly

Minister Michelle Gildernew MP, MLA today introduced the Dogs (Amendment) Bill to the Assembly.

Following the Bill’s introduction, the Minister said: “The Dogs (Amendment) Bill is one of my key priorities. The current legislation is now more than 25 years old and while it has brought many improvements in dog control here, we continue to have problems with dog attacks, straying and unwanted dogs.

“I am determined to strengthen and improve the existing arrangements to tackle these issues and promote responsible ownership.”

The Minister added: “The Bill will introduce compulsory microchipping, and will allow district council dog wardens to impose controls on dogs where there has been breach of dog control laws. The Bill will also make it an offence to allow a dog to attack and injure another person’s dog.

“I am maintaining the prohibition on certain breeds of dangerous dogs and will bring forward subordinate legislation to introduce further strict exemption conditions aimed specifically at protecting children. In addition, new powers for dog wardens to impose control conditions recognise the importance of ‘deed’ as well as ‘breed’.”

The Minister continued: “When the Bill is enacted I believe that it will, taken in its entirety, mean that we have the strongest dog control legislation in these islands.”

Notes to editors:

1. The Dogs (Amendment) Bill will update the Dogs (NI) Order 1983, which provides for licensing of dogs and includes provisions on dog attacks, straying and livestock worrying, and designates certain types of dogs like pit bull terriers that it is an offence to possess, except under certain very strict conditions.

2. District councils are responsible for enforcing the 1983 Dogs Order, and their dog warden services carry out enforcement duties including dog licensing, the seizure and re-homing or disposal of stray dogs, and the investigation and possible prosecution of offences. Income from the dog licence meets a small proportion of the cost of dog warden services.

3. The number of stray dogs impounded by district councils has fallen by more than 40% over the last decade, while at the same time there has been a 39% increase in the numbers of dogs licensed. However, the number of stray dogs per head of population remains much higher than in England, Scotland and Wales. Around 9,000 stray and unwanted dogs were impounded by district councils in 2009 and over 2,300 of those dogs were destroyed.

4. In 2009 there were 741 reported dog attacks on people; this figure has remained at around 700 since 2000. Livestock worrying, though at a lower level than was reported in the 1970's and 1980's, still remains high, with almost 300 reports investigated by dog wardens in 2009.

5. The key provisions of the Dogs (Amendment) Bill include:

• compulsory micro-chipping of dogs;
• scope for dog wardens to attach conditions to a dog licence where a dog’s behaviour has led to a breach of the Dogs Order;
• an increase in the dog licence fee to £12.50 in line with inflation (with concessionary rates for the elderly, those on benefits and owners of neutered dogs) so that councils can recover more of the cost of their dog warden services;
• a new offence of allowing a dog to attack and injure another person’s dog; and
• an increase in certain fines and penalties.

6. All media queries should be directed to the DARD Press Office on 028 9052 4243. Out of office hours please contact the duty press officer via pager number 07699 715440 and your call will be returned.