Press Release

21 April 2007

Lucky thirteen to return to overjoyed families

On Friday 20th April the Merseyside Magistrate’s Courts ruled that thirteen dogs held by Merseyside police as ‘types’ prohibited under the draconian Dangerous Dogs Act (DDA) are to be returned to their owners.

District Judge Andrew Jebb ruled that all thirteen pets may be added to the Index of Exempted dogs and returned home once precedures including neutering, ID chipping and tattooing are met, bringing months of anxiety and concern to a conclusion for their owners.

It’s a result welcomed by DeedNOTBreed, The Kennel Club, concerned dog lovers - and most importantly –thirteen families who have endured many weeks fearing for their friendly pets’ lives.

DeedNOTBReed (DNB) and the Endangered Dogs Defence & Rescue (EDDR) had both appealed for donations to provide legal representation, so that innocent owners could be helped as no legal aid was possible under section 4b of the DDA.
Thanks to the many kind donations received from individuals and canine welfare groups including Animals In Need and APDT trainer Lyn Fleet based in Merseyside combined with numerous fund raising activities over the past weeks the services of solicitor Trevor Cooper the canine law specialist were secured.

Twenty cases were originally expected, several owners had contacted the telephone helplines prior to the hearing following appeals to locate them. Following communications with the Merseyside Police, the Police agreed to inform owners that help had previously been given by DeedNOTBreed, Alison Green and Melanie Rushmore had liaised with Trevor Cooper and helped those owners to prepare their cases.

As owners arrived in court, some baffled by the proceedings and some not knowing what was happening, Trevor Cooper took them in hand and agreed to defend the 13 together. Assisting him in Court was Melanie Rushmore, Melanie Page and Diane Robinson of DNB who had all travelled to support the owners.
Dog owners finally got to find out if 13 was indeed unlucky for some, as they had the chance to plead their case in order to save the lives of their family pet. Summoned to appear before the court, many had gathered, not knowing what to expect or indeed what would happen regarding the lives of their dogs.

Finally, at 11.25am The District Judge began proceedings and commenced to swiftly read out each owners case in turn, summarising the notes made on each dog and giving a brief comment on his thoughts for each of the cases. Welcome comments included "this dog was happy and playful during his examination" and "no concerns about temperament during assessment" gave hope that the Judge had seen past the tag of 'pit bull type' and was acknowledging that these dogs were all, indeed, responsibly owned family pets,

In just over one hour, the Judge was satisfied he had all the information required to make his decisions and called a short recess to prepare his verdict and summary. A most pleasing and thoughtful gesture was that he chose to tell the owners before he left the court that he would be happy to place all the dogs on the register rather than proceed with any destruction order, bringing great relief to the owners.

After just 20 minutes, the case resumed and the Judge summarised that each and every owner had demonstrated their ability to be a responsible owner. He made everyone aware that the decision to open the register to each of these dogs was entirely at his discretion and he was satisfied that none of these dogs were of any danger to the public or other animals.
Finally, the Judge gave each owner instructions to see both police representatives and Trevor Cooper to proceed with the correct paperwork in order to get their pets back home as quickly as possible. He confirmed that each owner would now receive valuable information as to the process ahead of them, and that Animals In Need would work with the Dogs Trust to issue vouchers to help with the neutering costs of these pets.

The police applied for costs to be awarded to them, Trevor Cooper pointed out that the Act reads that costs could be awarded against the offender for the destruction of dogs and the kennelling of a dog until this could take place, but as the dogs were being registered and not destroyed and that this case was a civil one not criminal, there were no offenders. It was however established that the Judge did have discretion over costs but that he would not be awarding them as the owners having complied with police requests to hand in their dogs would now incur considerable costs in order to register them.

All round, a welcome victory for both owners and dogs who, once eventually released from police custody will begin to rebuild their lives together all over again. There was nothing unlucky about this 13 on this Friday.

Information packages were distributed by DeedNotBreed representatives to all the owners, the Endangered Dogs Defence & Rescue working alongside a behavioural team led by consultant Julie Pett has already helped several owners whose dogs have been returned and is offering free help and assistance for all dogs on their return home from a stressful kennel environment. Help with the costs of registration or any other welfare concerns is also available.

However, this positive result begs a very serious question:

This is the second set of DDA cases to be heard en masse by the Magistrate’s Court as a result of Merseyside Police’s recent initiatives to target the problem of so-called dangerous dogs. Every case has so far been deemed of no danger to the public. Surely, these decisions raise serious questions about both Merseyside Police’s approach and current Breed Specific Legislation.

Given that this is the second set of cases deemed of no danger to the public, DeedNOTBreed call for the immediate release of dogs currently in police custody, and for the re-opening of Index of Exempt Dogs to allow for owner-led registration. This would enable owners the option to register their dogs and comply with the restrictions of exemption. It may also lead to registration of dogs currently kept out of the public eye.

Though today’s cases are clearly a second victory, DeedNOTBreed sees this result as a small success in what will be a long campaign: the campaign to target the dangerous end of the lead. Instead of legislation which targets dogs like the friendly family pets released today, the group calls for consultation between all interested parties to see the creation – and introduction – of a new, considered, workable solution to target the real issue: problem owners.

As DeedNOTBreed Spokesperson Ray Morrow says: ‘We couldn’t have hoped for a better result today, but the right decision for thirteen families doesn’t change the fact that the logic behind Breed Specific Legislation is fundamentally flawed. Just think about it: what sense does it make that a dog deemed by a court to pose no danger to the public must wear a muzzle and be on-lead at all times, whilst owners who abuse their pets and encourage dangerous behaviour walk free?’

(ends)