Petition: Stricter control of dangerous dogs

Purpose and potential supporters:

To prevent dogs attacks on children and ensure the enforcement of the Dangerous Dogs Act in the UK

Petition addressed to:

Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs (Liz Truss, Secretary of State, and Bronwyn Hill, Permananent Secretary), Metropolitan Police, Local Authorities (including Islington Council)

Explanation or the rationale for the cause:

There are thousands of dog attacks in the UK every year and when the victims are children, the consequences can be fatal. In spite of this, it is common to see dangerous Pit Bull Terrier type dogs in the streets and parks of our cities out of lead and/or with no muzzle, contravening the Dangerous Dogs Act.

We would like to ask the above authorities to:

• Ensure the enforcement of the Dangerous Dogs Act by controlling that Pit Bull Terrier type dogs are on lead and muzzled in streets and parks

Additionally, we would like to petition for:

• Mandatory leads for all types of dogs while walking in the streets or parks - Designated areas in parks where dogs can run for free

Petition:

Dear Ms. Truss, Ms. Hill and other leading members of the DEFRA, Metropolitan Police and Local Authorities,

We think authorities should make sure that the Dangerous Dogs Act is enforced. Unfortunately, in many areas of the UK, as for instance in Islington, London, we observe daily many cases of infringement of the Act. We would also like to petition for some additional measures to protect children in the streets and parks. It is common to see dogs of all kinds out of lead in the streets. Although we are not suggesting that these dogs are dangerous, it is not easy to foresee the results of the interaction between uncontrolled dogs and young children. We think children will be safer if dogs are always on lead while walking in the streets. There are also dog-free areas in parks -usually playgrounds- and dogs are pretty much allowed to run free in the rest of the park. We would prefer that parks have designated areas for dogs to run free while the rest is either dog-free (e.g. playgrounds) or dogs are kept under control with leads.

Thank you for your understanding,

Looking forward to your actions to ensure the enforcement of the Dangerous Dog Act and if possible the additional protection measure to protect our children,

Yours sincerely,

Goal:

5000

Petition by:

Mariana (netivist username), an Islington mother

Deadline:

31-10-2015

Important: if you sign the petition is anonymous. Only if you comment will it appear on the the discussion forum.