Jump to content

Coroner Finds Death of Ada Holland in Dog Attack Was Preventable . ABC News 14'6/24


Deeds
 Share

Recommended Posts

Queensland has just recently upped their penalties for dog attacks... but the legislation also went a lot further than that, with a number of extra changes that are draconian and do not bode well for dog ownership overall.

 

I am all for increased penalties for those who own dogs that have attacked and severely injured or killed a human or other animal without provocation, and repeat offenders should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law... but as evidenced in this article, when council rangers are inadequately educated in the facets of their supposed functions, that raises a much larger problem. Those enforcing the legislation or council local laws should be sufficiently educated in all aspects of their roles at the very least, wouldn't you say?

 

This lack of requirement for any animal based qualification for someone enforcing animal welfare based legislation isn't just restricted to council rangers... RSPCA inspectors aren't required to have any animal based qualifications to do their role either, they basically only have to have a qualification in criminal investigation in order to get their job.

 

I wonder how many people who own pets nowadays actually know what the legislation is at local and state levels that affects them? Not many methinks. Then again good luck finding what the council level laws are in NSW, as those are either non-existent, buried deep inside some other compendium list/document of local laws, or not easily found via council websites. Hint: generally if a NSW council does have specific animal based local laws, they are called "Keeping of Animals" - but you also need to be aware that some councils also have Animal Management Plans, and just to throw a spanner in the works, some also have a list of other local laws that refer to animals as well. All other states' council websites are much easier to find their local animal management plans or local laws/by-laws, but NSW councils are really good at hiding theirs, trust me, I've been through all states council websites looking for that exact thing. Seriously, some remote indigenous community councils have better clarity of animal based local laws than city councils... which is just ridiculous.

 

A word to the wise... NSW are having local government elections in September this year, and that usually means that an incoming council will be looking at the local laws and amending those that may be out of date... which most NSW council animal based laws are... be warned! And don't get me started on state level animal welfare legislation... grrr!

 

T.

  • Sad 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

@tdierikxi totally agree with you.  The amount of dogs walking around in my area unleashed is off the scale.  Even in the main shopping strip where there are heaps of council rangers constantly booking cars for parking fines.

 

There is no enforcement at all for unleashed dogs around here.  And the hoops one has to go thru with council if you make a complaint about a dog attack puts people off so many dog attacks go unreported.  

  • Sad 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

You need an efficient council to do this.  And we don't have one. 

My whinge was in relation to preventing attacks i.e. enforcing dogs to be on leash.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I can remember a time when if you rang council about a loose/stray dog, they'd send a ranger out to come catch it. Nowadays, unless you have caught and secured it yourself, they won't come... and even then, they come "when they have time", so you are stuck looking after a strange dog until they get around to your issue.

 

Earlier this year (January), I called council about a little dog across the road who is always out and annoying anyone trying to walk up the street. She's a pretty little thing, but territorial. Council sent a couple of rangers out to talk to the owners a couple of days after my first complaint. The little dog is not microchipped or registered (and also not desexed, but that's not illegal), and the rangers have told the owners to get her microchipped and registered, but then haven't bothered to come back and check that it has been done... which it definitely hasn't by my conversations with the owners whenever I've herded the dog back home to stop it getting skittled by cars. I've called council at least twice since my first call, and nothing has been done or even followed up from that first contact back in January. If I could get near enough to the dog, I'd catch it and take it to the pound myself, but the closest I can get is for it to sniff my hand then back off quickly... and I know that if I lunge and try to grab it, I'll get bitten for sure... and it doesn't have a collar, so not much to grab at anyways.

 

I bet that if the dog across the road from me was a larger breed, council would be much more proactive about making the owners keep it contained. It's only a matter of time before it decides to nip/bite someone walking up the street. It's fave people to chase is a family of indian people with very small children. I've had it bail them up outside my house and I had to go out to chase it back home to let them pass safely even... their little kids are only toddler ages and were terrified. Even though this dog is only slightly larger than a chihuahua, if she decides to sink her teeth into a toddler, there will be damage.

 

T.

  • Sad 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, Deeds said:

@tdierikxIs it IWC ?

 

Nope - C-BC

 

 

8 hours ago, persephone said:

T, can you get photos or video ? maybe that would help...

 

Unfortunately, as soon as the dog sees me now, she starts heading home... that's how often I've gone out and told her to... she knows the drill now... *sigh*

 

On the upside, she no longer tries to bail me up, or even bark at me any more. Cheeky sod!

 

The owners have even seen her chasing people up the street and don't even try to call her back... until I come out and yell at her to go home... but 10 mins later she's doing it again and they don't care.

 

Today she nearly made a cyclist have a fall... grrr!

 

T.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

54 minutes ago, tdierikx said:

 

Nope - C-BC

 

 

 

Unfortunately, as soon as the dog sees me now, she starts heading home... that's how often I've gone out and told her to... she knows the drill now... *sigh*

 

On the upside, she no longer tries to bail me up, or even bark at me any more. Cheeky sod!

 

The owners have even seen her chasing people up the street and don't even try to call her back... until I come out and yell at her to go home... but 10 mins later she's doing it again and they don't care.

 

Today she nearly made a cyclist have a fall... grrr!

 

T.

:banghead: :mad

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

  

On 17/06/2024 at 1:22 AM, tdierikx said:

I can remember a time when if you rang council about a loose/stray dog, they'd send a ranger out to come catch it. Nowadays, unless you have caught and secured it yourself, they won't come... and even then, they come "when they have time", so you are stuck looking after a strange dog until they get around to your issue.

 

Earlier this year (January), I called council about a little dog across the road who is always out and annoying anyone trying to walk up the street. She's a pretty little thing, but territorial. Council sent a couple of rangers out to talk to the owners a couple of days after my first complaint. The little dog is not microchipped or registered (and also not desexed, but that's not illegal), and the rangers have told the owners to get her microchipped and registered, but then haven't bothered to come back and check that it has been done... which it definitely hasn't by my conversations with the owners whenever I've herded the dog back home to stop it getting skittled by cars. I've called council at least twice since my first call, and nothing has been done or even followed up from that first contact back in January. If I could get near enough to the dog, I'd catch it and take it to the pound myself, but the closest I can get is for it to sniff my hand then back off quickly... and I know that if I lunge and try to grab it, I'll get bitten for sure... and it doesn't have a collar, so not much to grab at anyways.

 

I bet that if the dog across the road from me was a larger breed, council would be much more proactive about making the owners keep it contained. It's only a matter of time before it decides to nip/bite someone walking up the street. It's fave people to chase is a family of indian people with very small children. I've had it bail them up outside my house and I had to go out to chase it back home to let them pass safely even... their little kids are only toddler ages and were terrified. Even though this dog is only slightly larger than a chihuahua, if she decides to sink her teeth into a toddler, there will be damage.

 

T.

Ensuring that those responsible for enforcing these laws are adequately educated and qualified is crucial to effective implementation and fairness in enforcement. Clarity and accessibility of these laws are also essential for pet owners to understand their responsibilities. I needed help with my coursework and turned to https://domypaper.com/discounts for assistance. I was very pleased with the result. The writer delivered a high-quality paper that was well-organized and insightful. The support team was also very helpful and responsive throughout the process. I highly recommend this service!

 

Any update?

Edit:Seems no

Edited by JessicaLawrence
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not sure what you are asking @JessicaLawrence... if you are asking if council has done anything about the dog across the road, the answer is a flat no... obviously they don't have the time or inclination to do their bloody job properly in this case. The dog is still being a complete little menace, and I'm still constantly shooing it home...

 

T.

  • Sad 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 20/07/2024 at 5:37 AM, tdierikx said:

Not sure what you are asking @JessicaLawrence... if you are asking if council has done anything about the dog across the road, the answer is a flat no... obviously they don't have the time or inclination to do their bloody job properly in this case. The dog is still being a complete little menace, and I'm still constantly shooing it home...

 

T.

Instead of shooing it ,, call it over with a buiscuit , when it gets used to you , pick it up , put it in the car , take it to the council  offices , tie it to a post outside with a note on its neck , FREE to good home

Link to comment
Share on other sites

21 hours ago, coneye said:

Instead of shooing it ,, call it over with a buiscuit , when it gets used to you , pick it up , put it in the car , take it to the council  offices , tie it to a post outside with a note on its neck , FREE to good home

 

Trust me, I've tried making friends with the dog in order to be able to catch it and take it to the pound myself, but it's a smart little turd and won't get within arm's reach... and I'll be buggered if I'm getting bitten trying to lunge for it. The compromise is shooing it home when it comes onto my property.

 

I have spoken to the owners numerous times, the latest being yesterday after it nearly got skittled by a car when it came rushing out to bark at my friend who was visiting me... but unfortunately they don't seem to give a toss, and as council can't be arsed following up after the initial visit they made back in January, the owners haven't had any consequences applied for not keeping the dog on their own property, so they think they can continue to not do anything about the problem.

 

T.

  • Sad 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...