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With over 200,000 Dog bite attack incidents occurring every year in the UK, at Shaw and Co Solicitors UK, we believe the debate over how the UK Animal Law should respond to Dog Bite Attacks and Dog Bite Injuries has never been more important. Last year, Parliament introduced a Bill amending the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, which will significantly extend criminal liability for dangerous Dog owners. Under the new law, owners may be guilty of a crime if their Dog is dangerously out of control in “any place”, including on private property. The bill will also extend the law to cover cases where assistance Dogs are attacked and will specifically allow for consideration of the owner’s character in criminal cases.
Whilst these amendments are undoubtedly necessary to tackle the most serious criminal incidents and are warmly welcomed as a sign of the government’s intention to legislate in this area, given our experience at Shaw and Co Solicitors UK of dealing with Dog Bite attack cases we consider that the Bill in its current form represents a missed opportunity for more wide-ranging reform of UK Dog Law. In particular, there is a notable silence when it comes to the civil law, which performs the hugely important role of enabling victims of Dog Bite attacks to receive the compensation they need and deserve, but is notoriously complicated and at times ineffective.
At Shaw and Co Solicitors UK we advise our clients who are Dog bite and Dog attack victims that they have two main claims under the existing civil law.
