Page 4060 - Week 14 - Wednesday, 24 October 1990
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Community views have been received through petitions and have been obtained through a survey distributed to the Canberra community through the Canberra Chronicle and Tuggeranong Valley View newspapers. The survey sought views on a number of proposed changes to the ACT Dog Control Act. Over 2,000 people responded to the survey. Results indicate that there is strong community support for proposals to provide for greater limitation on acceptable behaviour by dogs and, of course, their owners. There is also strong support from the community to require owners to control dogs or face higher fines or on-the-spot penalties.
The Government also received submissions from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the Canberra Kennel Association and the Companion Dog Club. Healthy Cities, Canberra has supported the program to increase owner responsibility from its inception.
Mr Speaker, it is clear that poorly controlled and uncared-for dogs and irresponsible dog owners generally are a major problem in this community. There are also problems with the existing Act - in particular, unrealistically low penalties. For example, an offender, for a minor offence, has to be proceeded against by summons, with a maximum penalty of $40, whereas the maximum penalty for a serious dog attack is only $200. When one considers the seriousness of some of these dog attacks, particularly to children in the community, I think that penalty is grossly inadequate.
There are no provisions to control backyard breeding of dogs and this causes an unacceptably high number of unwanted stray dogs and associated community and enforcement problems. The effectiveness of the Dog Control Act depends on dog owners taking responsibility for their animals and on an improved attitude to the control of dogs in the community. Irresponsible owners are placing an unacceptable burden on the community as a whole by disregarding the law, and that law has penalties which are no real deterrent.
As a result of its review the Government has decided to make significant changes to the Dog Control Act 1975 and will continue a community education program and wide community consultation to achieve a more responsible attitude to dog control by the community.
It is proposed to change the Act to require dogs to be registered from three months of age when the dog can begin to have an impact on the community - under that age they are generally regarded as pups - instead of six months as at present. A licence to keep more than three dogs at a household will be introduced. Applicants for the licence will have to fulfil conditions to keep a number of dogs. (Quorum formed) The conditions are aimed at controlling such factors as the size of the house yard, the size of the dog, uncontrolled backyard dog breeding, the proximity of
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