Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many prosecutions there have been for owning a dog banned under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 in the last two years.

Defendants proceeded against at magistrates' court for offences under 1(3) of the Dangerous Act 1991⁽¹⁾, England & Wales, 2012-2013⁽²⁾⁽³⁾ can be seen in the table below.

(1) Possession, without exemption of a Pit Bull Terrier, Japanese Tosa or other designated fighting dog.

(2) The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.

(3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from the administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services – Ministry of Justice PQC 830-14