Barrister Gavin Ridley On Breed Specific Legislation
Manage episode 392944772 series 3522955
In the early 1990s, a series of very unpleasant attacks on humans by dogs, some resulting in fatalities attracted the attention of the media.
The government responded with what might be considered a knee jerk reaction and breed specific legislation, or BSL as it is commonly known, came into effect as part of the dangerous dogs act.
Within this piece of legislation, four breeds of dogs are banned, including the Pitbull Terrier.
You might think that the action of banning these dogs considered dangerous breeds would result in reduced biting incidents and Zero Fatalities, but you would be wrong.
According to the RSPCA 37 People have died from dog related incidences, and hospital admissions due to dog bites actually increased 78% between 2005 and 2015. And of the 37 deaths 28 are caused by dogs not on the banned breed list.
So why isn't BSL doing what it intended?
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