Dog attack injury rise prompts education campaign

A stark rise in the number of people sent to hospital following dog attacks in Wales has prompted a call for increased responsibility for dog owners.

Radio Wales' Eye on Wales discovered that dog related injuries sent 234 individuals to hospital in 1999/2000, while 373 attended hospital in the year ending March 2009 following injuries caused by dogs. These figures, obtained by BBC Wales and taken from the NHS, indicate a 60 per cent rise in dog attacks in the last decade.

It is also assumed that injury numbers could be higher than reported, as statistics do not include those from doctor's surgeries or accident and emergency figures.

The reports have prompted calls for increased responsibility for dog owners, including measures such as compulsory licensing, micro-chipping, education and pet insurance.

Sian Edwards of dog welfare charity Dog Trust said: "The idea behind compulsory micro-chipping is creating a sense of responsibility and traceability.

"It means that every dog will be linked to somebody, so people can't go, 'It's not my fault, it's not my dog, it's not my responsibility'."

However, Betty Williams, the Labour MP for Conwy who was herself attacked by a dog last September, would prefer to see the return to a system of dog licensing in Wales.

The proposed licensing system is supported by the chairman of the Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellors, David Ryan. He said: "I don't just mean a little card you have to take across to the Post Office.

"It would include education, micro-chipping, neutering where possible, it would include taking out third party insurance, little add-ons that would make owning a dog a responsible thing to do as opposed to a disposable thing."

Mon, 15 Feb 2010 06:12:00 GMT