Posts Tagged ‘Dangerous dogs’
Council meeting
15th December 2009
Last night’s Council meeting saw the usual clumsy, ranting, long winded, motions from the Conservatives. Oh dear they do go on!
Labour’s ‘Sure Start’
A Tory lady put in a motion on Labour’s “Sure Start”. It was utterly misleading and replete with factual ‘errors’ – designed to make it look as though Labour (who created Sure Start) were its enemies. Council threw it out in favour of Adrian’s amendment. Another councillor also put in a (very helpful) amendment condemning the Tory lady’s ’scaremongering’ tactics.
See our posting below on Sure Start - or log onto ‘Sure Start’ in the Tag Cloud on the lower right hand side of this page to read more.
Dangerous dogs
Adrian put a motion calling for stronger controls over the ownership of potentially dangerous dogs. Despite the prevalence of so many uncontrolled, and so many untrained or badly trained, dogs on Wirral the Conservatives didn’t think to offer anything on that subject. But at least they didn’t oppose it.
‘Own goal’ from the defector
But Adrian’s motion on dangerous dogs was carried with no support from defector Denis Knowles. He didn’t support it because he didn’t stay long enough. He left early, before most of the Council’s business was voted on.
Before Denis’s slipped away early he did, however, make time for another ill-informed swipe at Adrian.
Heaven knows who’s advising him! Last week it was name-calling (Adrian being labelled ‘Old Greybeard’ who is allegedly ‘looking ill’ in one of Denis’s publications!). This week he announced in Council (with all the court-room gravitas of an American ’soap’ lawyer) that Adrian was not mentioned in the Charteris report. Wow! What a discovery. And what did he want his listeners to infer from that melodramatically announced pearl? Had he been alert at the Area Forum meetings he would have recalled that this question has already been answered.
Yet another 'own goal'?
Forgive the mixed metaphor Denis, but you’ve shot yourself in the foot yet again with another ’own goal’. Has nobody told you it’s entirely up to Sue Charteris to include, or leave out, whatever she likes?
But what is this really about?
Is it sour grapes because when Adrian was making a coherent case, in writing, to maintain Seacombe Library and Guinea Gap Baths, you uttered not a word to show any wish to retain these services?
Is it so very convenient for you to now erase from your memory the contradiction that you were busy declaring publicly that losing both Seacombe Library and Guinea Gap Baths would be ‘For the greater good’?
Meanwhile readers wishing to read up on all of the decisions made in Council can go direct to the Council’s website http://www.wirral.gov.uk for further information.
Dangerous Dogs
11th December 2009
Adrian will propose a motion to Council on Monday night on the control of dangerous dogs.
(1) Council notes that legal provisions concerning dogs were, in particular, enacted under the Dogs Act 1871; the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991; and, inter alia, the 1997 amendments.
(2) Whilst the government is to be applauded for introducing control provisions for particular breeds experience demonstrates that tragedies continue to occur in private premises and open spaces.
(3) Council notes that individuals with ill intent are easily able to acquire dogs that can be trained as ‘attack’ instruments. Irrespective of intent anybody can acquire dogs that are not, under extant legal provisions, deemed to be dangerous but may nevertheless through training for aggression, through ignorance or failure of training, or through neglect or any other reason, become hazardous in domestic surroundings or public places.
(4) The Government is therefore called upon to take urgent measures to:
- re-define the meaning of ‘dangerous’;
- re-consider the range of breeds that may be deemed dangerous;
- enact stricter measures of control; and
- consider the feasibility and viability of re-introducing licensing of individuals seeking dog ownership.
Adrian's English Springer and Welsh Collie have just been for a muddy day out.
Lest anybody should think Adrian is against dog ownership, nothing could be further from the truth – as the picture on the left, of his own two dogs, shows.
But despite legal measures the Labour Government has already introduced there are still far too many tragic incidents.
Dangerous dogs. A personal view from Cllr Adrian Jones.
4th December 2009.
Details of the latest tragedy involving dogs, in Liverpool, are reported in the links below.
Merseyside Police vow to take robust action against the growing menace of owners and their “status “dogs across Merseyside. Police are warning they will take action following the tragic death of John Paul Massey.
New link - 4th December 2009
Previous links
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/merseyside/8386023.stm
Adrian's English Springer takes an interest.
A matter raised frequently by residents attending my surgeries is their fear of dogs. There is particuar concern among parents who fear some of the dogs they meet when taking small children to our parks. But there are also concerns among the owners of well trained dogs when their pets are harrassed by untrained muts whose owners seem not to care a jot. I have raised this with our local PCSOs and Police.
In recent weeks there has already been quite some correspondence in the press about dogs and their owners. Does the argument concentrate rather too simplistically on whether ‘bad dogs’ or ‘bad owners’ are the problem? This seems to be the mantra when anything from savage attacks to mucky pavements is on the agenda. But are too many people making too many excuses? Some correspondents seem to be ‘dog experts’ but isn’t it really a matter for common sense?
Adrian & John will be raising the need to greatly strengthen the Dangerous Dogs legislation.
