Northern Ireland Dog Control Bill Consultation  - CWU "Bite-Back" Campaign

Dave Joyce, CWU National Health, Safety & Environment Officer has issued this week an update on the CWU's Bite Back campaign via letter to branches LTB398/10

The LTB is reproduced below in full:

This is an update report to Branches regarding Dog Attacks on Postal Workers and the CWU "Bite-Back" Campaign in Northern Ireland where as with the rest of the UK we are calling for the revision of the Dangerous Dog's Act 1991/ the Dogs (Northern Ireland) Order 1983, better protection against attacks on private property, better enforcement of the Law by the Police and Local Authorities, harsher sentences for offending dangerous dog owners and the introduction of Dog Control Notices (Dog ASBOs), compulsory Insurance cover and Microchipping.

The Union's primary objectives were to get in place a Law that better prevents dog attacks, applies the law on private property and premises and introduces new preventative Dog Control Notices (Dog ASBOs), bringing in measures to make owners more accountable and responsible.

The CWU Health, Safety and Environment Department has been campaigning hard across the UK since the launch of our campaign in 2008, lobbying continually, travelling, meeting no end of organisations and bodies to raise the profile of the issue, gain support and push the issue in to the public eye at every opportunity. Many meetings have taken place with Ministers, senior politicians, political parties, political groups, Civil servants, Local Authorities, Dog and Animal Charities, Police and Dog Wardens.

Following several meetings which produced a Motion and debate in the Northern Ireland assembly, a positive response was received from the Northern Ireland Government and a meeting with the Northern Ireland Government's Minister for the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and her team. The Minister set up a Dog Control Bill Team following our last meeting and a public  consultation was initiated on proposals to revise Northern Ireland dangerous dog control legislation via a new proposed Dog Control Bill. We received a very positive response from the Northern Ireland Government Minister and her team and various politicians and civil servants we met.

In summary, the Northern Ireland Government's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has confirmed to the CWU its intention to change the Law and has now published a consultation document on the Minister's proposals to revise the Dangerous Dogs Laws in NI. We were delighted to receive the positive set of proposals from Northern Ireland Government Minister which contained many of the CWU suggestions and we have responded to the consultation proposals with CWU support. We will be following progress in NI closely, supporting and helping expedite the new legislation in NI and we are due to attend a further meetings with the government team shortly as well as talking to the various parties representatives and lobbying for support in the assembly.

The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development consultation document sought views on proposals for changes to the legislation governing dogs and dog control issues. The proposals would amend the Dogs (Northern Ireland) Order 1983 to enhance the system of dog licensing, make micro-chipping of dogs compulsory and make attacks on private land an offence, make it an offence to allow a dog to attack another dog and introduce new proactive control measures. The proposals would also increase the cost of a dog license, with concessions for older people and for those with neutered dogs, and increase fines and penalties for offences under the Dogs (Northern Ireland) Order 1983. As part of the public consultation on proposals to change dog control legislation, the Department hosted a number of consultation meetings to help discuss the thinking behind the proposed changes. The Department for Agriculture and Rural Development published a consultation paper setting out proposals for changes to the legislation governing the control of dogs. The Minister said in launching the consultation that she wanted to highlight the serious problem we have with attacks by dogs on people which can be very serious incidents with the real risk of severe injury or disfigurement. There is also an unacceptable number of straying dogs in NI with 8,000 dogs impounded by local councils a year.

The CWU response and the original LTB can be downloaded here 

Source: CWU

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