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Dangerous dogs in the UK |
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Dangerous dogs in the UK are a major problem - every so often, there's news of someone, usually a small child, somewhere in the UK, who has had the misfortune to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Archie-Lee Hirst, aged one, savaged to death by another Rottweiler Archie-Lee died on the 28th of December 2008 after the ten-stone Rottweiler mauled his head at the home of his grandmother Sharon in Wakefield, West Yorks.
Little Archie-Lee Hirst (pictured below with his mum Becki), was snatched from the arms of a seven-year-old
girl in the yard of his grandparents' house in Wakefield on Friday and mauled to
death.
His 16-year-old aunt, who was upstairs in the house when she was alerted to the attack, battled the dog - as it savaged the child. After failing to wrestle Archie-Lee (pictured below), from the two-and-a-half year old
Rottweiler, the aunt called the emergency services.
Paramedics attended to the child and he was taken to nearby Pinderfields General hospital but a few hours later was pronounced dead. Detective Superintendent Steve Payne, who led the investigation, said: "I
have to pay tribute to the auntie, who attempted to rescue the child from the
Rottweiler. She struck the Rottweiler a number of times, but it wouldn't let go of the
child. It was a full-size Rottweiler dog, which I understand weighs 10 stone. Clearly
we're talking about very strong and powerful dogs here."
September 27, 2006, five-month-old Cadey-Lee Deacon was savaged to death by two
Rottweilers at the Rocket pub in Leicester. A fire escape door was left mistakenly open and allowed the
family's dogs, Bruno and Bess, access to the living quarters. The dogs
then made their way to the bedroom in which baby Cadey-Lee was
sleeping and then they mauled her to death.
5 Year old Ellie Lawrenson killed by a pit bull terrier-type dog On New Years day 2007 - five year old Ellie Lawrenson was killed in an attack by a pit bull terrier-type dog. Ellie Lawrenson suffered severe head and neck injuries in the attack by the family pet. Ellie Lawrenson :
Do we really need more Pit bulls like the one below ? ?
Two year old Paige Allison had most of her throat ripped out by a Staffordshire bull terrier In May 2007, little Paige Allison was savaged by a crazed pet dog that went for her throat. Two year old Paige was left fighting for her life when a Staffordshire Bull Terrier went wild, ripping off an ear, some of her face and most of her throat. Little Paige Allison below, with her mother :
Playground attack by an English Bull Terrier The attack took place at Maerdy infants school on the 22nd of June 2000, where an English bull terrier attacked children in a south Wales school playground - the English Bull Terrier was later put down. A six-year-old girl is recovering in hospital after she and three other children were attacked by the dog at lunchtime on Wednesday at Maerdy school. Mike Power below, who needed 13 stitches as a result of being bitten by the English Bull Terrier:
A total of four children and a school dinner lady were injured during the incident at the 144-pupil Maerdy Infants School in the Rhondda. Six year old Tara Smith had hospital surgery to her ear as a result of the bite. Six-year-old Mike Power was playing football with his friends in the school yard when the dog attacked. He was taken to hospital and had 13 stitches above his eye and was also bitten on his elbow and the top of his leg. School head teacher Gwyneth Maliphant said the bull terrier got into the yard where the over-fives were being supervised, and started to bite the children - it was dreadful.
The dangerous dogs act of 1991
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For anyone not sure of what the dangerous dogs look like, here they are :
Dogo Argentina :
Fila Braziliero :
Japanese Tosa :
The dangerous dogs act in the UK dated 1991, (which includes the amendment of 1997), needs changing, because under the current legislation of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, the owners of dangerous dogs who commit these offences, face fines of up to £5,000 and up to two years in jail - if an attack occurs on public land or a place where the dog should not have been in the first place. But the only 4 dogs on the dangerous dogs list are American Pit Bull Terrier, Dogo Argentino, Fila Braziliero and Japanese Tosa - why just these 4 dogs? The other dogs that are usually the ones to cause the most damage to young children apart from American Pit Bull Terriers, Dogo Argentinos, Fila Brazilieros and Japanese Tosas are Rottweilers, Alsatians, Dobermans, Bull Mastiffs, English Bull Terriers and Staffordshire Bull Terriers - so why isn't there at least some sort of plan for dealing with these types of dogs as well? Most studies point out that the breeds of German Shepherds, Dobermans, Rottweilers, Pitbull terriers and Staffordshire bull terriers were more than 7 times as likely to bite children compared to other breeds such as a Labrador retriever or a mixed-breed dog. When discussing with someone, the issue of dangerous dogs in the UK, you will usually hear the phrase - "All dogs bite, not just the dangerous dogs" - exactly, all dogs bite, but if you were given the choice of being bitten by a Chihuahua or a Rottweiler - you would obviously choose the Chihuahua - the reason is that one is much stronger than the other and so the bite will be a lot more powerful with the stronger dogs like Rottweilers, Alsatians, Dobermans, American Pit Bull Terriers, Bull Mastiffs, English Bull Terriers and Staffordshire Bull Terriers. The average dog's mouth exerts 150 to 180 pounds of pressure per square inch and some dogs can apply up to 450 pounds, but at recent criminal trials, an expert testified that the biting power of a German Shepherd is usually 900 to 1,200 lbs. per square inch, a Rottweiler is 1,700 to 1,800 lbs. per square inch, and the pit bull has the most powerful bite at 2,400 to 2,500 lbs. per square inch. In comparison, it takes just 4 lbs. of pressure per inch to break a human's finger. The RSPCA has warned of a new threat from dangerous dogs that could equal that of Pitbull Terriers in the early 1990s. The BBC's Yigal Chazan reports: "Police fear the law is being abused". The animal welfare charity says American Bulldogs are being imported and cross-bred in the UK to produce fighting dogs that are potentially extremely aggressive in an effort to side-step current legislation. The RSPCA's Chief Veterinary Officer Chris Lawrence said these new breeds could pose a serious danger to the public. "This has all the potential to be equally as great a problem as the Pitbull was. We have at least legislation to control them. What we have here is dogs which are potentially really nasty and really vicious." The police are urging the government to tackle the problem. An example of the Pitbull Terrier is below :
In most of the emails received on the subject of dangerous dogs, one of the most repeating sentences goes something like this "All dogs can bite, why are you only picking on Rottweilers, Alsatians, Dobermans, American Pit Bull Terriers, Bull Mastiffs, English Bull Terriers and Staffordshire Bull Terriers etc, etc ?" The answers always a very simple one - "When was the last time you heard of a Labrador or a Border Collie killing a little child ? ?" Don't we owe it to children to help stop any more of them having serious injuries or even dying because of a dog, don't we ? ?
If you have any enquiries about prohibited dogs in England or dangerous dogs in England, please contact the Animal Welfare Division (Branch E),
A very good website, giving details on potential dangers when mixing children with dogs, is on the link below :
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