Plans to extend legal protection against dog attacks

Royal Mail welcomes government plans to extend legal protection against dog attacks

The Government has announced that it is planning to extend legal protection over dog attacks to cover those that take place on private property.

The legal loophole in England, whereby people attacked by dogs have significantly less legal protection on private property, was highlighted in the report of an independent inquiry, commissioned by Royal Mail Group’s Chairman Donald Brydon, into dog attacks on postal workers. Over 3000 postmen and women were attacked across the UK by dogs from April 2011 to April 2012.

The inquiry, led by former High Court Judge Sir Gordon Langley, and published in November 2012, highlighted that the legal sanctions currently available in England when dogs attack people on private property are largely limited to action against the dog, eg. issue of a control order or an order that the dog be destroyed.

Tougher measures are available under existing law against owners whose dogs attack people in public places. But, these sanctions cannot be applied where the attack takes place on private property. This means that for postmen and women in England - who each have to visit hundreds of private addresses on their delivery rounds every day – the legal protection against attacks by dogs is limited.

Legislation that offers sanctions over attacks that take place on private property is already in place in Scotland and Northern Ireland, and the Welsh Government more recently announced proposals to introduce similar legislation in Wales.

Now the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has announced plans for the law to extend to private property in England.

Responding to the news, Royal Mail Chairman Donald Brydon commented: “We welcome news that DEFRA will now reform the law – and in particular, that the Government is now taking on board the recommendations set out in the report I commissioned from Sir Gordon Langley. It is important that our postmen and women are kept safe as they serve our customers.

“Dog attacks cause injuries and terrible trauma to our staff. Nobody should have to endure this and our postmen and women should not be at increased risk of such attacks simply because of the job they do.”

Sir Gordon Langley, who led the inquiry for Royal Mail, said: “The extent and frequency of attacks on postal workers is a matter of considerable concern. The inadequacies of the present law are apparent and these changes whilst long overdue are very welcome.”

The Langley Report also called for the compulsory micro-chipping of all dogs within three years to enable dangerous dogs and their owners to be more easily identified.

Following publication of the Langley Report, Royal Mail committed that it would:

• Take a more robust approach to suspension of delivery for any addresses where dog attacks occur.
• Actively pursue legal action - or support our people in taking legal action – against the owners of dangerous dogs.