The Government announcement to increase fines for breaches in laws for dog owners will have little or no effect as this country does not have the necessary number of dog wardens to enforce the laws.
Over 400 people were hospitalised last year after being attacked by a dog whilst the number of prosecutions are in single figures.
“I understand that we have 20 dog wardens in place in the country where there is a dog population in excess of 500,000. This is an insult to the law-abiding citizens and leaves the public in danger of further incidents and risk of permanent injury or death.
The number of dog wardens need to be increased tenfold across every Local Authority area with immediate effect if we are serious about tackling the problem. Enforcement and prevention are key to protect people from being attacked by dogs.
Laws and fines will remain useless if sufficient resources are not put in place”.