The Animal Sentience Committee (ASC) considers how central government policy decisions take account of animal welfare.
The Animal Sentience Committee has published their independent view on whether the government had all due regard to the welfare of animals as sentient beings in relation to the Dangerous Dogs Act.
Full Report – XL Bullies and the Dangerous Dogs Act:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/animal-sentience-committee-xl-bullies-and-the-dangerous-dogs-act-report
The ASC understands that the Government was under substantial pressure to act on this issue. However, we concluded that, because of the lack of adequate data to provide a sound evidence base for this decision, policy makers were unable to fully understand the impact of the policy decision on the welfare of dogs when adding the XL Bully to Section 1 of the DDA.
Despite this, the direct welfare impacts of the DDA are clear. Paying due regard to the way this policy decision would impact on animal welfare would have meant taking every reasonable step to ensure that policies around risks from dogs have a robust evidence base – this goes beyond breed-specific legislation.
Failure to prevent the stagnation of the RDO Taskforce has left an evidence void at the heart of this legislation. The ASC recommends that this group be given a clear remit by government to ensure that the evidence requirements of this policy are fulfilled. This will help enable future policy considerations and decisions to be made in good time, preventing avoidable suffering to high-risk dogs, other animals and the public.
Looking forward, it is clear that some dogs are a danger to humans and other animals, and that policies will need to continue to prevent incidents, as far as possible. Some stakeholders suggested the unification of all dog control-related legislation in the UK into a single Act, coupled with a cultural shift in how dog control is viewed. The ASC believes this is worthy of consideration, particularly if it were to encompass the welfare of all animals. This includes companion animals other than service dogs, farmed and wild animals.
In the more immediate future, ensuring that comprehensive data and information around dog strikes and attacks are adequately obtained, recorded and analysed will help to enable policies, and their implementation, to pay due regard to animal welfare.
