Police confiscate four outlaw dogs

From the archive, first published Tuesday 9th Jan 2007.

Police have released these photos of four outlawed dangerous dogs which were seized during raids in West Yorkshire.

And a senior officer has urged people to contact them if they are concerned dogs are being kept or bred illegally.

The four dogs were seized from two addresses in Liversedge and Heckmond-wike last weekend. They have now been identified as banned pit bull terriers.

The dogs were confiscated after West Yorkshire Police and RSPCA officers executed search warrants at the two addresses on Saturday following information from the public.

Police have carried out examinations, including DNA tests, to confirm the breed of the dogs and say they now believe them to be pit bulls, which are banned under the 1991 Dangerous Dogs Act.

West Yorkshire Police released pictures of the dogs, which were seized under the terms of the Act.

Chief Superintendent Barry South, the Divisional Commander for Kirklees Police, said the majority of dogs were kept as genuine pets.

But he added: "We accept that there are some dogs out there that cause concern to the community and these dogs are sometimes being bred or kept illegally.

"We would stress that it is only a minority of dogs involved, but if people do have concerns they should contact their local Neighbouring Policing Team on 0845 6060606."

Chief Supt South has pledged police will take positive action where they have information that dogs are being kept or bred illegally.

Section One of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 prohibits four types of dog, including the pit bull terrier.

It is an offence to own or keep such a dog, unless it is on the Index of Exempted Dogs, or to breed, sell or exchange such a dog in any circumstance.

Two men were arrested on suspicion of offences under the Act during Saturday's operation.

Police yesterday said two men, aged 27 and 37, had been reported for summons for offences under the Act.

They will appear before magistrates in Dewsbury at a date to be fixed.

Two men, from Liversedge and Heckmondwike, were named by a Sunday newspaper last weekend as part of an investigation into the sale of dangerous dogs.

The newspaper claimed one man offered a pit bull terrier to undercover reporters at a car park in Huddersfield, while the other showed off dogs caged in a bathroom.

The police raids follow similar dog seizures on Merseyside after five-year-old Ellie Lawrenson was mauled to death by a pit bull terrier-type dog at her grandmother's home in St Helens.

And a 46-year-old woman was given a police caution for allowing a dog to be dangerously out of control in public after two young boys were mauled by a pit bull terrier-type dog in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

A 41-year-old man needed 78 stitches after he was attacked by a friend's Rottweiler cross on Tyneside.

There are fears pit bulls are being bred and sold illegally across the country.

The Telegraph & Argus Curb the Danger Dogs campaign is lobbying the Government to toughen up the Dangerous Dogs Act.

We are calling for:

compulsory registration for all dogs, rather than the current system which is limited to certain breeds

all dogs to be micro-chipped to allow ownership to be traced

mandatory life bans from dog ownership to be introduced for anyone convicted of having a dangerous dog

a record of control orders to be kept on every dog's registration

a specific offence of allowing a dog to stray to be added to the Act, with fixed-penalty fines for owners to prevent dogs being out of control at any time.

HOW YOU CAN SIGN OUR PETITION

You can back our Curb the Danger Dogs Campaign by signing our petition, which will be sub-mitted to the Home Secretary, John Reid.

We want to collect as many signatures as possible in the next month to show Mr Reid the strength of feeling in the district about the inadequacies of the Dangerous Dogs Act and to put pres-sure on him to better protect the public against dog attacks by acting on the changes to the law we have outlined on the petition.

You can support our campaign simply by adding your own name on the petition online at our publication's website www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk. Or you can print out the petition and ask family, friends and colleagues to sign as well. The more signatures we receive, the stronger our message.

But whatever you can do will add weight to our campaign and help to make it clear to Mr Reid the strength of public feeling regarding the desperate need to change the current law.

Remember, you need to return copies of the petition to the T&A (the address is at the foot of the form) by Thursday, October 12.

We will then submit all the forms we receive to the Home Office.

Click here to sign the petition on-line

Or click here to download a copy of the petition to print out

Start or join a debate on this issue in our online forum - Click here

e-mail: steve.wright@bradford.newsquest.co.uk