Lennox Remembered - One Year On

R.I.P – Lennox:

Gone But Not Forgotten xx

 

Lennox was a five year old crossbreed dog who was seized on 19th May 2010 from his family home in Belfast Northern Ireland.

He was taken under breed specific legislation (BSL) which has been in force in Northern Ireland since introduced in 1991 and amended in 2001 and then again in 2011. This is separate law (although similar) to that in England, Scotland & Wales.

Lennox had never put a paw wrong, he was held for his appearance - for looking like a prohibited type of dog. Lennox was neutered, licensed (dog licence in NI) for the past 5 years of his life, micro-chipped, insured, DNA registered & pet safe registered, his family had no access to visit him whilst he was held.

Following extensive legal appeals at the courts in Northern Ireland and a worldwide campaign to save him - Lennox Campaign Details here.

Lennox had his life taken from on 11th July 2012

 

One year on - we remember Lennox - a dog who shone a light on to the cruelty that is breed specific legislation

and for Lennox and every canine which has been, is and will be persecuted, prosecuted and killed by BSL:

We will continue to speak out - Not In My Name

Gone But Not Forgotten

End BSL

 

 

Lennox Update:

We last updated on the Lennox case here on 20th October to explain that the case is ongoing.

There have been some posts stating that a court hearing was scheduled for 11th November, subsequently we received a number of emails asking for information.

There was no court hearing on the 11th of November, there was no court hearing planned and no date for any hearing has been given - this information is accurate and has been given by Lennox's family (updates on twitter).

The legal process is ongoing and meanwhile Lennox remains held.

Lennox-Case Ongoing:

Further to our last update, it is confirmed that legal action regarding pet dog Lennox, is ongoing.

Following on from the last court hearing on 30th September, where the appeal (against a destruction order) was dismissed by Judge Rodgers, a set time (14 days in NI) in which to lodge a further appeal was given; this is normal procedure in legal proceedings of this nature.

Appeals at this level can be lodged on a point of law via way of case stated, paperwork has been submitted and the case is ongoing.

Court destruction orders are not enforced whilst legal proceedings are ongoing.

An appeal at this level in the court system, once granted leave (permission has to be given by the court) would review whether there has been an error in the way the law has been applied to a specific case.

We have received many emails on this subject asking questions regarding the legislation in the UK and understand that many people are outraged and upset:

As an organisation involved with breed specific legislation legal hearings and campaigns, we have studied in depth the law in Northern Ireland for some time, corresponded with DARD and followed the progress of the Dogs Amendment 2011 (NI), we have forwarded our findings and liaised with a barrister, experienced with canine cases, here in England.

As this is very much an ongoing legal case where a innocent dog's life hangs in the balance we will not be stating our thoughts regarding the Judgment which has been posted on the Internet via the Belfast City Council web site, as requested to do so via many emails received-we have submitted our opinions based on our research on both current law and case law directly to those involved.

If you haven't already signed the petition to support Lennox, please take a few moments to do so and share with your family and friends. Petition here.

Meanwhile Lennox remains held, his family awaits further news as do his thousands of supporters around the world.

Belfast Telegraph News 20/10/11

Lennox Update:

The court gave its Judgement on Friday 30th September. Sadly, the original destruction order was upheld.

The legal team for Lennox will no doubt be studying the wording of the Judgement to ascertain whether there are grounds for any further legal action in an effort to save Lennox from the death penalty.

There are 14 days in which to lodge an appeal, whilst legal proceedings are ongoing, Lennox will be kept alive and remain held.

We have received a large number of emails regarding the situation and will try to respond to them all-please bear with us.

Please also bear in mind that Lennox's family need a little space to deal with this latest news.

Export of Lennox does not appear to be an option, there have been several offers put forward from people trying to help, the court has ordered destruction and then this order has been upheld at the latest appeal hearing.

Northern Ireland has its own breed specific legislation-it is similiar to that in England, Wales and Scotland, but not the same.

The legislation affecting Lennox is as follows:

The Dogs Northern Ireland Order 1983
Dangerous Dogs Act Northern Ireland Order 1991
Dogs Amendment Act NI 2001
Dogs Amendment Act NI 2011

Death Row Dog Lennox Update

The World is Watching:

The legal appeal hearing for Lennox (see our previous article here) held under breed specific legislation in Northern Ireland went ahead at the Laganside court house in Belfast as scheduled on Friday 23rd September.

This was the second day in court on the appeal hearing sitting before Judge Derek Rodgers, proceedings again ran all day with no final decision given.

Whilst Lennox was on trial the petition in support of him crashed through the 100,000 mark, with a colossal 100,361 signatures reached on that very morning as his trial began.

All eyes are literally watching from across the globe as thousands of people follow the whole sorry saga in total dismay, watched through network & Internet sites and determined to help in any way they can.

A legal verdict awaits for a pet dog who has never put a paw wrong under a law which reads like something from the dark ages. In the meantime the petition launched to save him continues to grow as it is circulates around the world.

You can show your support and add your signature here; it will only take a few seconds of your time.

The court has decided it will give its Judgement in seven days time on the morning of Friday 30th September.

Lennox Update

The legal appeal hearing went ahead on Friday 16th September as listed at the Laganside court in Northern Ireland, the court ran out of time on the day and the hearing was scheduled to continue into a 2nd day on 23rd September

Lennox remains held in kennels appointed by the council, away from his family.

There are currently over 89,000 signatures supporting the release of Lennox. Please continue to share the petition with all your contacts, family and friends:

Petition - http://www.petitiononline.com/sl190510/petition.html

Pet Dog Lennox - court hearing due:

Innocent Dog Caught In Legal Nightmare:

There is a court hearing scheduled for Lennox at 10.30am on 16th September 2011 at the Langanside Courthouse, Belfast; this is the appeal against the death sentence (not conviction) which was ordered by Judge Nixon at the last court hearing in March 2011.

Lennox is a five year old crossbreed dog who was seized on 19th May 2010 from his family home in Belfast Northern Ireland. He remains held on ‘canine death row’, under sentence to be destroyed, whilst legal proceedings are on-going.

Lennox was taken under breed specific legislation (BSL) which has been in force in Northern Ireland since introduced in 1991 and amended in 2001. This is separate law (although similar) to that in England, Scotland & Wales.

Lennox had never put a paw wrong, he is held for his appearance - for looking like a prohibited type of dog. Read more here

Lennox was neutered, licensed (dog licence in NI) for the past 5 years of his life, micro-chipped, insured, DNA registered & pet safe registered. He currently awaits his fate held by Belfast City Council (the councils implement this law in NI); he has been separated from his family who have no access to him.

There has been new legislation recently passed and now fully approved in Northern Ireland which will amend, clarify & introduce new measures:

The Dogs (Amendment) Act Northern Ireland 2010 passed its final stage in the NI Assembly on 8th February. DARD have confirmed to us that it received Royal Assent on March 8th 2011 and that different sections will commence at different times.

Of relevance here is that Sections 5 and 9 relate to prohibited types of dogs clarifying discretion when sentencing & exemption on both conviction and non-conviction cases.

Previous to this, the NI legislation had been amended in 2001, but there seems to have been no cases of dogs being ordered 'exempted' as an alternative to destruction, this is thought to have been down to an 'anomaly' in the amendment, which gave discretion to the courts when sentencing but did not directly appear to link this discretion to the exemption process on conviction cases.

It is now clear and has been confirmed that the courts do have the power to order exemption of a dog as an alternative to destruction on conviction (when found guilty of being a prohibited type of dog-as in the case of Lennox).

The process of exemption would be carried out by the local council as opposed to a central registry-as it is in England, Scotland and Wales (the Index of Exempted Dogs now run by Defra).

Lennox is one of many dogs seized and held in NI, now that the legislation has been ‘clarified’ there is new hope that these dogs can be ordered exempted as opposed to a court destruction order, as is currently the case in the rest of the UK; allowing pets to live until a time when failed breed specific legislation can be completely repealed and replaced with laws which apply equally to all types of dogs and focus on the real problem - irresponsible people.

Lennox's family have been extremely brave and endured a lot of stress and anguish as they have battled on to save their dog's life with the full weight of criminal law thrown against them putting them in an seemingly impossible position. 

Lennox their pet which lets not forget, had lived happily and without incident for five years, licensed as all dogs are in NI and responsible owned, is kept confined in a concrete cell with just his memories of a life he once knew, whilst the legal wheels move painstakingly slowly.

All the time Lennox is unaware he has support from across the globe as it swells behind him & all eyes are following the case, with one common aim to release his chains, to let him live, to bring him home & plough the way for others to follow; the names you don't hear about, the other victims of outdated draconian law labelled, isolated & lined up for the killing.

The case of Lennox has yet again highlighted the real-life workings of breed specific law and the cruel way in which the law allows dogs to be taken from their family homes and put on a death trial with a tape measure.

Lennox isn't the only dog held in NI and across the rest of the UK, but he is a light in the dark for many, with no exemptions ordered since the law was amended in NI ten years ago how many pets have tragically lost their lives behind closed doors?

When we supported the case of 'Bruce' another pet dog also taken under the same piece of law the widespread confusion uncovered surrounding the NI Amendment and workings of the ban in NI was astounding see here.

In our opinion, a dog has to be the first dog to get through the exemption process, if one can win through, more can follow the same legal route and be spared from the death sentence.

Exemption isn't the solution for flawed law, but for those dogs caught up in a legal nightmare it gives them a chance to live, to be returned to their families, whilst the fight to repeal bad law continues.

Please sign the Lennox petition, there are currently over 67,000 signatures supporting the release of Lennox. Please share the petition with all your contacts, family and friends:

Petition - http://www.petitiononline.com/sl190510/petition.html

Please visit the Save Lennox campaign  –

http://www.savelennox.co.uk/