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Written Question
Dangerous Dogs Act 1991
Monday 13th June 2022

Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of conducting a review of (a) Breed-Specific Legislation and (b) the Dangerous Dogs Act by the end of 2022.

Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General

The primary purpose of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 is public protection. The Government must balance the views of those who want to repeal or amend the breed specific legislation relating to the Pit Bull terrier, Dogo Argentino, Fila Brasileiro and the Japanese Tosa with that responsibility.

The Government considers that a lifting of the restrictions on these types of dogs would more likely result in an increase in dog attacks, rather than contributing to any reduction in such incidents. This position is supported by the police.

In December 2021, Defra published research in collaboration with Middlesex University investigating measures to reduce dog attacks and promote responsible dog ownership across all breeds of dog.

Defra have subsequently set up a Responsible Dog Ownership project in collaboration with the police, local authority representatives and animal welfare stakeholders to consider the recommendations set out in the Middlesex University Report in detail and provide advice to the Government as to how these could be taken forward.

We expect the work of the work of the Responsible Dog Ownership project to be concluded in early 2023, at which point the Government will consider the advice.


Written Question
Dangerous Dogs Act 1991
Wednesday 26th January 2022

Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to update breed-specific legislation and the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 to help prevent unnecessary suffering in dogs.

Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The primary purpose of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 is public protection. The Government must balance the views of those who want to repeal or amend the breed specific legislation relating to the Pit Bull terrier, Dogo Argentino, Fila Brasileiro and the Japanese Tosa with that responsibility.

Historically, pit bull types are powerful dogs which have been traditionally bred in the UK for dog fighting. Data gathered from 2005 onwards on fatal dog attacks show that pit bulls were involved in around one in six tragic incidents, despite the prohibitions that we have in place that have significantly limited the numbers of pit bulls in the UK.

The Government considers that a lifting of the restrictions on these types of dogs would more likely result in an increase in dog attacks, rather than contributing to any reduction in such incidents. This position is supported by the police.

Despite the general prohibitions on these types of dog, individual prohibited dogs can be kept by their owners if a court considers certain safety criteria to be met.

The Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 also gives enforcement bodies the power to take action in cases where a dog is considered to be dangerously out of control and has attacked another dog.

In December 2021, Defra published research in collaboration with Middlesex University to look at responsible ownership across all breeds of dog. The report will provide the basis for the consideration of reform in this area and the Government is already working with the police, local authorities, and stakeholders to consider the recommendations further.


Written Question
Dangerous Dogs Act 1991
Tuesday 30th June 2020

Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the recommendation on breed specific legislation in paragraph 22 of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee's report on Controlling dangerous dogs, Ninth Report of Session 2017–19, HC 1040, whether he plans to repeal section 1 of the Dangerous Dogs Act.

Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General

The Government response to the report by the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee (EFRA) entitled "Controlling Dangerous Dogs (HC1040)", was published on 28 January 2019 and addressed each of the Committee's recommendations. In its response the Government noted it has commissioned research by Middlesex University into dog attacks. The research is ongoing and will help to inform implementation of some of EFRA's recommendations.

In their Ninth Report of Session 2017-19, HC 1040, EFRA stopped short of recommending the repeal of section 1 of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991. In the summary, the Committee stated "We agree with the Government that it would be irresponsible to amend the breed ban immediately without adequate safeguards." In response to the EFRA report, the Government referred to the suite of powers and measures available to police and local authorities to respond to incidents involving dangerous dogs and to help prevent dogs from becoming dangerously out of control.