13
May
2014
By Calvin at 08:52 GMT, 12 years ago
New penalties have come into force for dog owners in England and Wales
Here they are in brief:
- Allowing a dog to carry out a fatal attack now carries a maximum prison sentence of 14 years (up from 2)
- Allowing a dog to cause injury carries a maximum prison sentence of 5 years (up from 2)
- Owners will be liable for prosecution regardless of where the attack took place and so includes the dog owner’s residence
- New protection is given to assistance dogs so that Owners found guilty of allowing an attack on an assistance dog could be jailed for up to 3 years (10 guide dogs are attacked every month!)
- New preventative powers will allow the police and local authorities to send owners to dog training classes and require dogs to be muzzled in public
Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1991/65/contents
Dangerous Dogs (Amendment) Act 1997 http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1997/53/contents
