Victoria's Comment on Dog Amnesties

February 8,2007

Despite an avalanche of advice and public outcry requesting they not follow through with their threat to do so, the Merseyside Police have in fact initiated a 7-day dog ‘amnesty,’ asking that dog owners surrender their pets to the authorities for destruction if they feel the animals may be dangerous or illegal.  I remain vehemently opposed to such an ineffective undertaking, and am concerned for the safety and well-being of both the general public as well as responsible owners and their dogs.

There can be no dispute that something must be done to curb the spate of dog attacks recently inflicted around the country.  But for local authorities to enact such ill-conceived responses to these attacks (after collecting and then ignoring advice from all sides of the issue) is irresponsible.  It angers me that those in charge of these situations feel that they have the expert knowledge in this field to undertake such dangerous measures, and it confirms my worst fears that the authorities truly don’t understand the most common fundamental causes for dog attacks on humans.

In the vast majority of cases, serious dog attacks on humans occur as a result of irresponsible ownership, either at the time of the attack or throughout the dog’s upbringing and general living environment.  To single out ‘pit bull-type’ dogs (which isn’t even a defined breed) because of their looks or breeding and target their heredity as the culprit is wrong.  This amnesty celebrates that fallacy by encouraging dog owners to kill their dogs even if they’re well-behaved, even-tempered pets, based soley on the way they look.

The amnesty will absolutely not make Merseyside a safer place with regards to dog attacks.  Those truly guilty of encouraging aggression in their dogs are not law-abiding people.  If they break the law by participating in dog fighting and other illegal practices, what on earth makes the Merseyside Police think they’re suddenly interested in jumping to the ‘right’ side of the law via this amnesty?  Only those responsible dog owners who are scared into submission by this undertaking and the media hype surrounding the issue will surrender their dogs, resulting in the tragic death of ‘innocent’ dogs and massive grief and guilt on the part of their owners.

The amnesty will drive those the police ought to be targeting further underground, while adding to their ranks those responsible dog owners who correctly refuse to recognize this absurd plan as legitimate.  It is my sincere hope that responsible dog owners in Merseyside are not swayed into believing that their only option is to have their dog killed.  It is the government’s fault that the Dangerous Dogs Act does not adequately address the issue of irresponsible dog ownership by imposing stricter penalties.  Instead, and only after tragic events like the death of Ellie Lawrenson, they have been shamed into cobbling together another altogether ineffective plan which not only fails to address the real issue, but imposes the ultimate punishment on wholly innocent dogs and owners in the process.

I urgently call on the Merseyside Police to stop this amnesty, return all surrendered dogs to their owners and join in a positive effort to re-write the Dangerous Dogs Act to remove breed-specific references and target the irresponsible owners truly at fault.

Victoria Stilwell
Dog Trainer
“It’s Me or the Dog”, Channel 4