CROSSBREED ATTACK - Wolverhampton, Thursday 16th May, 2002
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Once again, criminal behaviour by dog owners has resulted in severe injuries to
children. Why is it that the law-makers will still not understand that we all
need protecting from irresponsible owners who intentionally breed and train dogs
for aggression and/or allow them to roam the streets out of any proper control.
- It is no comfort for the children and adults badly injured by two
crossbreeds in Wolverhampton to know that 4 specific breeds were banned in 1991.
- It is no comfort to the girl killed earlier this year in Germany that
several different breeds have been banned in that Country.
It must surely be time for the Government to talk properly with veterinary
bodies, animal behaviourists and dog owners to really understand the problems of
bad ownership and begin to draft legislation to control the real threat to
children - posed by the way some dogs are kept and stop relying on merely
categorising breeds.
This may absolve their conscious but clearly does not protect children. Repeated
scientific research has shown that breed is NOT the significant factor and
pandering to media pressure is no way to protect the public.
The Staffordshire Bull Terrier remains one of the breeds known to be excellent
with children (see Southampton University Report) and today, an estimated
250,000 Staffordshire Bull Terriers in the UK were not involved in attacks on
children.
The attack in Wolverhampton is reported to have been carried out by two "Bull
mastiff/Staffordshire Bull Terrier crosses". This is quite probably a euphemism
for dogs that were named and banned in 1991 since the owners can hardly admit to
having intentionally disobeyed that law. Hence it is "easier" to blame two
well-known and popular breeds, the Bull Mastiff and Staffordshire Bull terrier,
both of which have been bred and developed over many years to create pet dogs
able to live happily alongside their human owners.
Dog owners don't want to see children injured any more than other members of the
public and Government must finally be forced to open a proper informed debate
about how to protect them.
David Levy
(Kennel Club liaison officer for Staffordshire Bull Terriers)