The law about ‘dangerous’ dogs is worse than their potential bite

It’s a not-so-shaggy dog story with a happy ending. Hank the dog, having been snatched from his Belfast home on suspicion of looking like a pit bull terrier, is expected to be returned to his owners this week. But the row over Hank’s treatment, news of which spread rapidly around the world as people rallied to the animal’s cause, has again raised a controversial question. Should dogs be treated differently – or even banned, and possibly destroyed – because they belong to a particular breed?

In the Republic, 10 breeds of dog are subject to restrictions, such as being muzzled and leashed when in public. “Dangerous dog” law in Northern Ireland, like that in the rest of the UK, goes much further. Four breeds – the pit bull terrier, the Japanese Tosa, the Dogo Argentino and the Fila Braziliero – are deemed to pose an essential threat and can be seized and destroyed.

One of several problems with this type of legislation is in determining with any degree of accuracy whether an individual dog belongs to one of the outlawed varieties. In Hank’s case, he was eventually declared to be a “pit bull terrier-type” – a vague description which could nonetheless have consigned him to death – but after a behavioural assessment, it was decided to place him on an exemption register, because he was not considered to be a risk to the public.

Pet seized

Much of the outrage over the treatment of Hank was related to the draconian way the case was handled. The first that Hank’s owners,

Leonard Collins

and

Joanne Meadows

, knew of the problem was when they arrived home on July 14th to find there had been a raid on the property by a squad of Belfast City Council dog wardens, supported by police officers. A warrant taped to the front door informed them that their pet had been seized.

Collins and Meadows, who believe Hank to be a Labrador-Staffordshire terrier cross-breed, were flabbergasted. Hank had not been accused of aggressive behaviour. No bites, no fights, no injuries: nothing to indicate that he posed any kind of risk to the public. He is licensed, insured, micro-chipped and neutered, and he receives a special diet and prescribed medication for a skin condition. According to Collins, a computer science student, Hank is a friendly dog who spends most of the day snoozing on the bed. Yet he was taken by force, and held in isolation from his owners for several weeks, purely on the basis of his appearance.

Restricted breeds

Of course, stories like this are inevitably highly emotive. Many dog-lovers see their pets as similar to children – innocent, vulnerable extensions of themselves – and they often react defensively, and with intense emotion, when they feel their darlings, or indeed anyone else’s, are being impugned. Meath county councillor

Alan Tobin

discovered this in May, when he expressed satisfaction at the erection of signs reminding owners of the 10 restricted breeds, including pit bulls, Rottweilers, Doberman Pinschers and Japanese Akitas, to comply with control regulations when they are out in public. “It still amazes me that some people think these dogs are ideal family pets,” he wrote on Facebook. The social media backlash against his comments was ferocious.

Get beyond the yapping and howling, however, and it quickly becomes apparent that the dog-lovers are right: there is no clear scientific evidence that restricted or banned dog breeds are inherently more dangerous than others. Many dog-behaviour experts argue that breed-specific legislation is a flawed and illogical knee-jerk response to a complex problem, and is ineffective in reducing dog attacks.

Indeed, the number of people hospitalised across the State for dog bites actually rose by 50 per cent between 1998, when Ireland introduced the restricted dogs list, and 2013. So the existing laws are obviously not working.

Demonising dogs

Targeting irresponsible owners, based on the behaviour of their pet, not demonising or even killing safe, healthy dogs who happen to have a bit of pit bull in them, is a better answer. It’s often said that dogs share a comical physical resemblance with their owners, but it’s the mental resemblance, coming down the lead like an electric current, that is crucial here. Fear, hostility and aggression – or a nasty combination of all three – is instantly transmitted from human to animal, sometimes with predictably savage results.

Yet the converse is true too. Calm, authoritative owners mean calm, obedient dogs, regardless of breed.