Coroner Calls For Laws On Breeding Restricted Breeds

[Aidan3]

...I would be confident to say yes she would be still alive and a Labrador would not have killed her in the same circumstances??

I would be confident to say the overwhelming majority of pitbulls would not have done this.

BSL doesn't work although had Ayen's killer been scooped up by BSL legislation prior to the attack and the dog replaced with a Labrador, BSL would have worked in this case to have saved Ayen's life more than likely.

Had the dog's owner acted more responsibly the tragedy would not have occurred. The argument that you're trying to make, and I do understand where you are coming from, is flawed. The data tells us that these tragedies still occur with BSL. Whether that is because people still illegally keep pitbulls, other breeds are involved in attacks, other breeds become corrupted to fill the gap, people remain negligent in safely keeping dogs, or whatever - the same number of tragedies still occur. You changing an example to suit your argument doesn't change that.

[Tempus Fugit]

If you are worried that Rex was inhumanly kept on a chain on concrete (which has never been proven), consider that by law the enclosure for a 'dangerous' and 'restricted breed' dogs only has to be 10 sq metres and has to have a concrete floor. Compare that with a dog tied to a swivel tether (such as sled dogs and fighting pit bulls) on a 2 metre long chain giving it 12.5 sq mtrs to roam. There appears to be nothing in the regulations requiring a dangerous/ restricted breed dog to be taken out of its enclosure for any form of exercise.

On a lighter note I read that a canadian chihuahua recently copped a 'dangerous dog' declaration after biting a postman.

The fact that the dog apparently hadn't got out before and had ulcerated pressure sores suggest that it was tethered doesn't it? I've had 68 kilo dogs who didn't ever have pressure sores of any kind, but of course, they didn't spend their lives sleeping on concrete either.

Maybe the circumstances in which dogs are kept should also be subject to evaluation. In the Ayen Chol case there was direct access from the backyard into the garage and no door. The only thing between the backyard and the street was the garage door so unless the dog was kept chained it had access to the street each time the garage door opened and a vehicle entered or left. Not ideal in my opinion and neither is chaining a dog permanently....

Yea, that is what I was getting at but the coroner did not mention that the dog was kept chained (either because they did not think it was important, or because they didn't notice any evidence thereof or because they did not want to mention anything that might undermine their reasoning of the breed being the one and only reason that this dog did what it did) so I refrained from drawing this conclusion publicly.

Either way the ulcerations of the dog were completely ignored and dismissed and so were the circumstances the dog was kept in. Disgusting.

[BlackJaq]

If you are worried that Rex was inhumanly kept on a chain on concrete (which has never been proven), consider that by law the enclosure for a 'dangerous' and 'restricted breed' dogs only has to be 10 sq metres and has to have a concrete floor. Compare that with a dog tied to a swivel tether (such as sled dogs and fighting pit bulls) on a 2 metre long chain giving it 12.5 sq mtrs to roam. There appears to be nothing in the regulations requiring a dangerous/ restricted breed dog to be taken out of its enclosure for any form of exercise.

This is true and also despicable. Many dogs become dangerous from this sort of treatment in the first place. Obviously the dangerous dog laws themselves as less than well thought out.

HOWEVER as far as I am aware a dog needs to be supplied bedding to be kept humanely. At least in a pound or kennel it does. I really hope this applies to "dangerous" dogs as well. They are still animals and should not suffer needlessly especially over something as simple as bedidng!