Council acts on control of dogs
20 Apr 2012 13:52:14
Since the Control of Dogs (Scotland) Act 2010 came into force last year officers from the Environmental Health Service have been hitting the streets investigating reports of dangerous or out of control dogs.
The act is designed to identify dangerous and out of control dogs at an early stage so that action can be taken to change the behaviour of these dogs or, in some cases, their owners. Specially trained officers can assess a dog and serve a Dog Control Notice (DCN) on an owner who fails to keep it under control. A copy of the DCN is provided to Strathclyde Police and it can enforce a range of control measures like micro chipping a dog to allow for future identification; muzzling and keeping the dog on a lead in public places and neutering male dogs.
David Mitchell, Head of Legal, Procurement and Regulatory Services said: “Our officers have investigated 24 dog control related incidents and have issued 8 Dog Control Notices since the act came into force last year. Unfortunately two of these notices have been breached by the owners but action has been taken and reports have been issued to the Procurator Fiscal by Strathclyde Police.
“We have all seen images in the newspapers of children who have been attacked by out of control dogs and these images stay with you for a long time. By taking early action and working together we can help to prevent dog attacks. I would ask that if you have any concerns regarding the aggressive behaviour of a dog to please contact the Council on 01563 554022.”
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