Dog Buyback Scheme

[Nekhbet]

http://m.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/local-government-minister-don-page-considers-miranda-devine-dog-buyback-scheme/story-fni0cx12-1226693108076

Local Government Minister Don Page considers Miranda Devine dog 'buyback' scheme

NEIL KEENE and ALICIA WOOD

The Daily Telegraph

August 08, 2013 12:00AM

Muzzle the mutts

Source: DailyTelegraph

KILLER dogs could be surrendered as part of a "buyback" scheme being considered by the state government.

Local Government Minister Don Page has asked his department to review the scheme suggested by Daily Telegraph columnist Miranda Devine.

"We are a reformist government and we will put any serious suggestion into the mix. Ms Devine's plan has been referred to the division of local government for consideration," said the minister, who doesn't own a dog himself.

The buyback scheme, similar to John Howard's gun buyback, would allow owners of all dangerous dogs, including pitbulls, to leave their dogs with the local council.

MIRANDA DEVINE - TIME'S UP FOR DEADLY DOGS

WHEN GOOD DOGS GO BAD, GET OUT OF THE WAY

OWNERS ARE OBLIVIOUS, SAYS DOG ATTACK VICTIM

WHY DIDN'T DOG TAKE ME? - TODDLER DEEON'S GRANDMOTHER

They would then be able to choose a safer dog from the tens of thousands waiting for homes in pounds, and be financially compensated for their trouble.

Restricted breeds in NSW include pitbulls, Japanese tosas, dogo argentino and fila brasileiros. Between 2011 and 2013, there were 2451 dog attacks in NSW where the breed wasn't identified, 1180 attacks by bull terriers, and 625 attacks by Australian cattle dogs.

Since Barry O'Farrell came to power, there have been two reviews into dog safety laws following attacks.

In the UK, the government is considering the penalty of life in prison for owners of dogs who cause injury or death.

"The point was made in the parliamentary debate on the amendment that the current level of maximum penalty for an aggravated dog attack of two years imprisonment is too low, given the devastating effect that dog attacks can have on peoples' lives and on assistance dogs," a UK government briefing said.'

Dog attack victim Deeon Higgins. Source: Supplied

"Overall, there is a range of possible maximum sentences between two years' imprisonment and life that might apply in different circumstances."

In NSW, the toughest penalty available for the owner of a dog that attacks is two years prison and a $55,000 fine, but that only applies to dogs declared dangerous or prohibited.

Charlestown MP and veterinarian Andrew Cornwell, chairman of the state government's Companion Animals Taskforce, said the current "piecemeal" legislation was a result of kneejerk decisions of the past.

"We found as a taskforce that the former government left us with laws that had been made as kneejerk responses to incidents and therefore did not meet the community's needs," he said.

"We have to make sure that any legal changes we make we get right. They have to be able to stand the test of time."

[tdierikx]

"We have to make sure that any legal changes we make we get right. They have to be able to stand the test of time."

Ummm... they have to be policed effectively... or nothing works.

We have enough current laws and regulations already to cope with the issues out there, but what we DON'T have is any funding put into the manpower needed to effectively police them. It's piss easy to enact a kneejerk reaction law, but a whole other ballgame to make sure it is enforced.

It takes the average Joe about 10 minutes to find an unmicrochipped pup/dog for sale - maybe a hour or two to go buy it. There's one example of how blatantly one current LAW (in NSW at least) is being flaunted. One look into the numbers of adolescent unchipped dogs impounded at any given time is also an eye-opener... they came from somewhere, yes? If there were people on the ground in animal management/control positions, maybe they could crack down on the high numbers of backyard breeders carelessly pumping out substandard pups and selling them to anyone with the purchase price.

The "crackdown" needs to start somewhere - and above is going to have the fastest and most efficient results... and best of all, it doesn't impact all of those doing the right thing.

T.

[Nekhbet]

Miranda has said that Pit Bull labels APBTs, American Staffordshire Terriers and Staffordshire Bull Terriers. All these breeds and anything like them (she considers mastiffs pit bull types too) are to be MANDATORILY handed in to the council for euthanasia and the council will provide you with a more 'suitable' breed from a rescue/pound and the taxpayer foots the bill.

Don't be fooled by this, her ideas are sick and amount to the mass euthanasia of thousands of innocent dogs.

[tdierikx]

As an owner of 2 dogs that would be the subject of such a campaign, I'm not impressed...

Funnily enough I'd trust either of them with a small child much more than my other 2 dogs who are "more suitable pets" according to M Devine...

Seriously, why do we have to legislate to the lowest denominator all the time?

T.

[GeckoTree]

She's a f***ing idiot and that's all there is to her she will ever be in life. So sad i guess equal opportunity workplaces are showing how shit they are, from New york to the daily telegraph. Just wow.

Edited August 8, 2013 by DaffyDuck

[stellnme]

I'd like to see a "hand in an idiot" scheme - and get an intelligent person in return.

Who decides which dogs in pounds will be "safe", are they then guaranteed never to do harm to anyone? There are certainly enough rules and regulations already, just need them enforced.

[hankdog]

Couldn't believe I heard Alan Jones supporting this idea on the radio this morning. I only caught the last half but seriously I wouldn't have thought this idea would get any credence. Makes me wonder what other rubbish I suck up from the powers that be believing they know better. Police the existing laws would be a marvelous idea.

I would support prospective dog owners having to do a short course on responsible dog ownership before being allowed to get a dog. If pet shops could only sell to people who have done the course in the last year or two would cut down on impulse buying as well.

[Weasels]

Some numbers --> http://www.savingpets.com.au/2013/08/miranda-devines-plan-for-community-safety-kill-one-million-dogs/

Giving us the need to, in NSW alone, cull – 265,000 dogs. Or another way – about 25% of the overall dog population

Edited August 8, 2013 by TheLBD

[kelpiecuddles]

Queue the dickheads deliberately backyard breeding their poorly bred and raised pitties just so they can trade them in and get 'financially combensated'

[~Anne~]

Anything written in the Murdoch comedy club rag is not eligible for serious discussion. I'm surprised anyone bothers to read that trash anymore.

[Poppy's mum]

Miranda Devine has written previous anti-dog pieces, as in "I can't understand why people make so much fuss of their dogs..."

[BrigadoonRose]

I think that Devine has written sensationalist, uninformed drivel goes without saying. The article should be dismissed as such. The fact that a local govt minister sees fit to consider that drivel is much more concerning.

[Nekhbet]

The fact that a local govt minister sees fit to consider that drivel is much more concerning.

That's what concerns me the most. A child has died, and people are in a frenzy to look like they're doing something productive about it. How many knee jerk reactions have happened about dogs in the past few years, more laws that don't get properly policed.

[m-j]

The fact that a local govt minister sees fit to consider that drivel is much more concerning.

That's what concerns me the most. A child has died, and people are in a frenzy to look like they're doing something productive about it. How many knee jerk reactions have happened about dogs in the past few years, more laws that don't get properly policed.

Knee jerk reactions is the biggest problem. Extreme reactions with very little thought put into them. Education of dog awareness in conjunction with training are areas that I think need to be expanded on.

Getting message through can be challenging though. I sure there are dolers out there (particually puppy class instructors) who have been asked by Joe Blow what do think the prognosis (behaviour/temperament) is and you have said "if you do or don't do x, y could happen". The owner has gone "no not fido, that won't happen" " or "I have had a dog/s before that were ok with that" and then 6, 12, 24, months down the track has thought to themselves "yep the writing was on the wall for that one."

Even people you have given advise on their selection of dog for their lifestyle, prior to them getting a dog.

With both senarios it can be frustrating as the dog is generally the one who loses on the ownership deal, unless they can be rehomed.

[trinabean]

The fact that a local govt minister sees fit to consider that drivel is much more concerning.

That's what concerns me the most. A child has died, and people are in a frenzy to look like they're doing something productive about it. How many knee jerk reactions have happened about dogs in the past few years, more laws that don't get properly policed.

Yes, polititians seem to love a 'quick fix' that soothes the voting public. To the uninformed, the PR spin makes it look as though they are 'doing something about the problem.' The sad thing is, bite statistics won't be changed by knee-jerk new laws.

[BrigadoonRose]

The fact that a local govt minister sees fit to consider that drivel is much more concerning.

That's what concerns me the most. A child has died, and people are in a frenzy to look like they're doing something productive about it. How many knee jerk reactions have happened about dogs in the past few years, more laws that don't get properly policed.

Agreed. It's treating the symptom & not the cause. Unfortunately, getting to the cause takes a lot more effort & resources - not something pollies are keen on investing. They want to be seen "taking action".

It's horrific every time anyone, let alone a child, is attacked. Yet statistically, compared to say car accidents, the incidence is quite small. When high profile people are quick to lay blame & come up with "solutions", the voice of reason is unfortunately lost.

I'm at a loss really. I never want to see another story about a child, or anyone, being attacked by a dog. But how do you fix the problem when:

• it's not being policed adequately
  
• people don't want to report issues (Wendy Harmer article)
  
• people seem ignorant about the benefits of training (themselves & their dog)
  

[Plan B]

If everyone could email Don Page [[email protected]] with this proposal, that'd be a start. He said he wanted serious suggestions about how to keep a community safe and this is pretty serious.

[Santo66]

What needs to be addressed is the breeding of powerful breeds and lets face facts that many of these Bully X breeds are purposely bred on aggressive parentage to satisfy the bogan market, or they are result of random breeding's done by people who don't know what they are doing breeding temperament/character mismatches creating fear aggressive or progeny that exhibits high levels of social aggression.........the breeders of these dogs need to be accountable for their produce IMHO.

A few years back now, there were cowboy breeders of GSD's who were putting fear aggressive dogs together as quality dogs of man stopping protection capabilities until the police, military and people tried to train these aggressive lines in bite sports quickly determined that these breeding's were shit, limited in their uses and were poor examples of the breed and given they were pure breed and sought after by professional working dog entities cleaned up these poor breeding's automatically over time as the breeders of GSD's like this had no homes for them if they weren't euthanized in the process from random attacks or biting without provocation, but over time the breed quality dramatically improved to the other end of the spectrum where it's harder to find GSD breeding's with enough fighting spirit to be trained in protection, that's another story.........but the point is, the breeders if they wanted to sell dogs had to tidy it up which they did but unfortunately in the BYB free for all, there is no control over what is bred and who gets them and until some breeding regulations are enforced, this problem will continue as in the BSL situation where any dog of visual likeness to what could be result of a cowboy breeding are condemned without testing which is wrong of course so it needs to come down in by belief to who is breeding this shit in the first place that has consequently affected innocent dogs.

Lets not be naïve to think that these dogs featured in sever attacks, mauling's and deaths are nice dogs gone wrong when they were more than likely purposely bred for the bogan market in the first place from an ancestry of aggressive dog concoctions. Breeding needs to be left to people who know what they are doing and if they breed shit, be accountable for it by legislation.

[Little Gifts]

Let's hope that Ms Devine comes back as a dog in her next life. I'm not sure what breed but I would like her to live a long and only semi-pampered life so she gets a full insight into the canine world.

[melzawelza]

What needs to be addressed is the breeding of powerful breeds

It actually doesn't. The areas that have seen wonderful success with reducing dog attacks have never focused on this aspect of animal management. Improvement in breeding practices is often a nice by-product of models such as the Calgary Model, but it's never needed to be focused on.