Page 524 - Week 02 - Wednesday, 20 February 2019
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
training, do not play a role in dog attack prevention. Instead, the study recommended changes in human behaviour, responsible dog ownership, and increased reporting of incidents as the key factors to reducing dog attacks. This tells us that the current approach this government is taking is the right one.
As I have already mentioned, whilst incentivising owners to register their dogs is recommended, experts recommend that rewards and discounts work in conjunction with a regular and paid registration scheme. Under the current lifetime registration system the opposition’s proposed amendment would require owners to seek reimbursements for their registration fees months after paying for registration.
Dogs are required to be registered by their owners at or after 12 weeks of age for good reasons, yet most training services, particularly those that focus strongly on behaviour, do not train dogs until they are aged six to 12 months. This shows how poorly aligned the proposed amendment is with real life circumstances and with the existing systems we have in place.
The suggestion that dog owners should contribute nothing towards the services DASÂ provides while being incorrectly misled into believing their dog will be safe by completing one training course is unfair to the community and will not lead to our streets, parks, local shops or homes being any safer. Of course dog training is a great way to help reduce nuisance behaviour and improve the bond between a dog and its owner, but it is in no way a one-off solution to dog attacks.
This proposed amendment goes against the community education and awareness campaign that the government will be ramping up this year because it sends a message to dog owners that dog training will prevent attacks from occurring and that registration is not important. In truth, all the evidence shows that the key elements that prevent attacks from occurring are keeping your dog on a leash and secure in its yard, microchipping, registering, socialising, and desexing the dog. Other responsible dog ownership actions, such as responsible procurement and training, are part of responsible pet ownership and are beneficial to reducing nuisance behaviour but do not on their own directly address the issue of dog attacks.
A little over a year ago the government introduced a comprehensive suite of amendments to the Domestic Animals Act which were passed unanimously by the Legislative Assembly. These amendments were based entirely on proven evidence from other jurisdictions, credible academic research, international best practice approaches, and the overarching strategic direction of the animal welfare strategy.
These changes have since been commended by the independent expert review and include significantly increased fines and penalties for non-compliance, including quadrupling the cost of a dangerous dog licence and refusal or cancellation of registration for irresponsible dog owners, which has never been done before in the ACT. This was a government initiative aimed at proactive prevention of irresponsible owners from owning or continuing to own a dog. This continues the focus on the behaviour of dog owners essential to dealing with dog attacks.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video