Page 1831 - Week 06 - Thursday, 5 June 2014
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Today I am presenting a bill to amend the Domestic Animals Act 2000 to promote responsible dog ownership and to provide suitable penalties to act as a deterrent to dog attacks in the Canberra community.
The bill that I am presenting aims to do this in four important ways. It creates a new offence covering situations where a person allows a dog to attack another person or animal, causing them serious injury. It creates a new offence of a dog attacking a person or animal, causing serious injury, in the absence of its keeper or a carer. It creates a new offence of allowing a declared dangerous dog to attack a person or animal, causing serious injury; and it increases the infringement notice penalty for the existing offence of allowing a dog to attack or harass a person or animal.
Australia has seen a number of particularly vicious dog attacks on both people and other animals in recent years. The ACT has not been immune from these attacks. Dog attacks have resulted in significant national media and public attention and have generated much community debate about dog attacks and responsible pet ownership.
On the Easter long weekend alone, three vicious dog attacks occurred in Sydney. In the worst of the three attacks, a 90-year-old woman was hospitalised in Sydney’s south after being viciously attacked by a dog owned by her daughter. The woman was left in a critical condition after having undergone emergency surgery for severe injuries to her head.
The woman’s 70-year-old daughter also suffered serious injuries to her hands as she tried to pull her dog off her mother. The woman was eventually rescued by a father and son who happened to be walking past on their way to a family dinner. These men also suffered injuries in the dog’s frenzied attack. The animal was destroyed by the local council after the attack.
This is just one example of the many dog attacks that have occurred in Australia that have had significant media coverage. Most dog attacks are not reported by the press. Closer to home, there were 284 reported dog attacks or incidents of harassment in the ACT during 2013. So far this year, Domestic Animal Services has issued 31 infringement notices for dog attacks or harassment. These are statistics that I find unacceptable.
DAS takes all dog attack and harassment incidents very seriously. Where there is enough information provided, DAS rangers undertake a thorough investigation into each reported dog attack. The ensuing investigation can lead to the potential seizure of the attacking dog or infringement notices being issued to the dog’s keeper. The most severe attacks can lead to prosecution of the attacking dog’s owner.
Owning and caring for dogs is a serious responsibility. Most dog owners are well aware of their responsibilities to provide for the welfare of their family pet. They are aware they must provide food, exercise, love and training to ensure that their dog thrives and remains a valued member of the family.
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