Proposed Dog Control bill - Interpretation including suggested amendments.

Proposed Dog Control bill - Interpretation including suggested amendments.



Many people have requested a basic English explanation of the proposed Dog Control Bill so here it is. Be warned it is long, however if you own a dog you MUST understand what laws are being proposed as YOU will have to abide by them and if you disagree with them, fight to ensure they are not passed!

Before we start on whats in the bill a quick explanation of how this could become law.

This is a Lords bill which simply means it is being put forward by a member of the House of Lords, in this case, Lord Redesdale. The bill itself was drawn up by the Dangerous Dogs Act Study Group which comprises of among others the Kennel Club, Dogs Trust and many others (not DDA watch for clarity!).

As a Lords bill it starts in the House of Lords. It has two readings and then reaches committee stage. This is where the bill is currently at and on 21st January the bill will be examined line by line. Before the committee stage takes place a list of any suggested amendments is published. During the committee stage, which has no time limit, the bill is examined in detail. Each section of the bill has to be agreed to and votes taken on amendments.

If the bill is amended it is then reprinted to include those amendments and the bill then moves onto the report stage. Following the report stage it has a third and final reading in Lords before being passed to the Commons who will then go through all the same stages. If it goes through all stages in Lords and Commons it will then reach a stage for any final amendments before gaining Royal Assent and coming into force as new legislation.

It is worth noting that the only previous amendment to the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 was brought into force in 1997 as a direct result of a Lords bill. It was this amendment that removed mandatory destruction of dogs deemed to be banned types.

Please note that while we have done our utmost to interpretate the meaning of this Bill it is not to be taken as a full and perfect breakdown. If part of it doesnt make sense to you, it may well be that you have spotted something we have missed! If this is the case please email us via ddawatch@googlemail.com or mail@dangerousdogsact.co.uk or join our facebook group and post on the wall http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pages/DDA-Watch/366883744658

In order to be as precise as possible we are breaking the bill into smaller user friendly sections! Each section will explain the changes the Dog Control Bill will bring according to its draft at frst reading stage and any amendments that have been proposed prior to the committee stage. Please remember, not all if any of the amendments will go through. They are simply proposed amendments at this stage.

Below are links to the sections "translated" so far. Further links will be added as more sections are translated so please keep coming back to check for updates. You may notice a very small number of sections are not mentioned in the translation. This is because some sections tend to double up or are for basic information, often information we have already put into the translation.  However if you think you have spotted something we missed, do please contact us as above.

Responsibility for dogs, control of dogs and reasonable cause explained!