Responsible dog ownership summit: report

Mini round-table discussions on a range of key discission topics/questions

Question for Group One

• What type of non-legislative action can be taken in short term to deliver ‘quick wins’/to strengthen dog control and dog welfare in Scotland? - set out what should be the top three priorities to consider post summit?

Suggestions included:

• The group agreed that there is a need for more council staff and better training for local authority dog wardens and animal control officers.
• The group called for trained Dog Legislation Officers (DLO’s) to be introduced in Scotland to deal with dangerous dog related issues. Such officers should be trained to assess whether a dog involved in any particular incident is a dog breed that is covered by section 1 of the 1991 Act. This would ensure that cases involving such dogs would be dealt with more efficiently.
• There should be a review of the current Control of Dogs Joint Protocol agreement between Police Scotland and Local Authorities.
• Previously updated in 2021, the Joint Protocol sets out how Police Scotland will deal with offences under the 1991 Act, and how local authority dog wardens will deal with civil measures, namely the Control of Dogs (Scotland) Act 2010. The intention of the Joint Protocol is to aid local authorities and Police Scotland with the decision making process when considering how best to deal with complaints relating to irresponsible dog ownership within our communities.