George is a member of the select committee on the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs who this week produced a report recommending a major shake-up of legislation relating to dogs and a new focus on tackling irresponsible breeders of dogs.
The report released some shocking statistics. The number of stray dogs picked up each year now stands at 100,000. Hospital admissions for dog related attacks have doubled in the last ten years to over 6000 and there has been a sharp increase in attacks on guide dogs. Meanwhile, the number of illegal “dog fights” reported to the RSPCA jumped to over 300 last year and the number of so called "status dogs" seized by the Metropolitan Police now stands at over 1000 a year.
George said, "This problem is out of control and is being driven by a trend or “fashion” among young men involved in gangs to have an aggressive dog by their side. Many also think they can make a lot of money by raising puppies among popular “status dog” breeds such as Mastiffs and Staffordshire Bull Terriers but they often don’t know what they are doing and do not give the puppies the care they need. Puppies need to be socialised and treated well in the first months of their life. If they get a bad or neglectful start, they will often not recover. All too often, people buy puppies that have not been looked after properly and then, when they become fully grown, the owners find that they are unable to handle them so they just abandon them. Dog charities are inundated by abandoned Staffordshire Bull Terriers. Because of the way they were treated as puppies, they are often judged unsuitable to re-home with families so, in many cases they have to be put down. It is an appalling tragedy and high time tougher action was taken."
George is recommending changing the law so that an attack on a guide dog is regarded as an aggravated offence and similar to a dog attack on an individual. At the moment there is a lack of protection in the law to do anything about such attacks but they cause huge distress to the blind or deaf people who depend on their guide dogs and undermine the confidence of docile labradors to do their excellent work.
He is also advising tougher rules to tackle back street breeders of status dogs by requiring anyone breeding more than two litters of puppies in a year to be licensed with the Local Authority. At the moment the law allows people to breed up to five litters of puppies a year (roughly 50 dogs) without any kind of regulation and they are often neglected or even trained to be aggressive. George also wants the courts to have the sanctions they need to take action against irresponsible dog owners. The introduction a new Dog Control Notices similar to those used in Scotland would allow a broader range of sanctions which can be tailored to an individual case.
To listen to his recent appearance on the Today programme, click here.