New Legislation - Victoria.
Hi folks - just thought I would post this up for those who may be interested.
I did not write the article below - it was sent to me by the author whose name appears below.
The new laws do create concerns for many breeds and it will be very interesting to see what impact is felt.
A local council officer has told me they have had a number of pitbull type dogs surrendered for destruction since the laws were introduced
Dogs Victoria have been organising for certain breeds to be displayed to DPI and council officers. The Rhodesian Ridgeback Club of Victoria (my wife is the secretary) has been asked to send along a number of examples of the breed - including ridgeless examples - to show the officers the characteristics of the breed.
Please note lads - I do not support dangerous dogs, or aggressive dogs - but I do not support breed specific legislation either.
Anyway - here is the message sent:
"I write on the presumption that your Club Members would be aware of the new amended dog laws introduced to Victoria in September 2011. Your Members may not, however, be aware that the laws are NOT as straight forward as they are promoted to be they offer a zero net gain in public safety and do not contain any mechanism which will lend itself to promoting responsible canine guardianship.
These laws are flawed by the very way in which they are written – there are hidden ‘traps’ within the changes that the dog owning public would not or could not imagine might even extend their wicked reach to their own breed of choice.
The very fabric of this legislation is woven to be gradually stretched to include dogs one might not think possible or likely to receive such treatment; very potentially even beyond noble breeds such as the Staffordshire Terrier, the Bullmastiff, the Rottweiler, and the German Shepherd Dog.
The laws have transcended the Breed Specific Legislation regulations that were introduced several years ago. Even those laws were passed by Government in the face of people with the knowledge and evidence to prove that it was already a failed law.
Now what we have is an “Appearance Specific Legislation”. If your dog, be it a pure-breed ANKC Registered dog or not, in the opinion of a Council Officer fits the breed description laid down by the Government, then your dog may be seized and, if lost under appeal, destroyed. The life of your dog hanging on the opinion of a council officer??
Get a letter from a Vet certifying that your dog is not a Restricted Breed? That’s what the Government has outlined as one of the “exemptions” from the claws of this law. Yet they did not consult the AVA before penning the law and we find that the AVA is against this course of action. In fact, the law puts Vets in a most awkward predicament which has the potential of causing them a liable suit no matter which way they turn.
Got an ANKC Registered Breed Certificate to prove your dog’s breed status? Poor penmanship on the part of the Government has lead it to only ANKC Registered AmStaffs as being those who may use this as their “get out of jail free” card.
Sure, your Club may be about pure-breeds; but let’s not forget that whilst indiscriminate breeding is not supported, there are many of us who not only support but who are members of a pure-breed dog Club, who also have as a family member a loving cross-breed dog of indiscernible background that we might have saved from the clutches of death at a shelter or some other form of helping-hand rescue group. These dogs, if they “look” like anything near the description the Government has put down in writing (and how long will it be before that description is extended?), are indeed, in the “high risk” category.
“My dog is Council Registered”, you might say? Did you know that if your Council decides your dog fits the “appearance” description laid down by the Government and if your Council chooses that it does not want a dog of the “appearance” such as yours in its jurisdiction, it can refuse your next registration renewal and then seize your unregistered dog? Your Council might be dog-friendly and you think unlikely of making such a decision. Remember that they too would be feeling the pressure …. could they be held responsible if they granted registration to a dog that in turn injured someone at some later date?
And so I hope you catch the gist of what these futile, ineffective and in themselves, dangerous laws are about. And where does the Community stand? Where does it promote a safer community by seizing and destroying dogs of a friendly nature? How does it promote education when “eradication” is made to be in the uppermost minds of people who don’t understand and know dogs well?
We, the people within the dog community, need to stand in unison with the Community as a whole and demand a science driven approach to animal management that protects both our community and our dogs!
Please join us in the up-coming rally arranged to be held on Saturday 22nd October, 2011, beginning at Federation Square at 11.00 am, moving to and finishing at the steps of Parliament House.
This is a peaceful rally and is a DOG FREE event. Please leave your dogs at home, but carry with you a leash and empty flat collar to represent your dog.
I’m attaching a copy of the “Dog Lovers For A Safer Community” flyer. Please pass it, together with this covering email and the following link to the Facebook Page for this event, to each Member of your Club and ask them to send it on to others. Owning a dog is not a pre-requisite to supporting this rally by attending.
Facebook : Dog Lovers For A Safer Community - Dog Laws Must Protect Not Endanger!
The rally is being well constructed and its design is to remain civil, calm and polite. We, after all, represent not only ourselves, but our dogs as well, and we seek to show to everyone that dog-owners are a respectable AND respectful group. It is to also afford the opportunity for the dog fraternity to educate not alienate.
Please also find attached an Information Sheet which provides some additional explanation along with guideline requirements.
This rally is not about breed. It can’t be – the regulations have transcended that. This rally IS about laws that will fail – no good for the Community, no good for the dog-owners and no good for the dogs. This is the time when we need to stand together, united. So please join in as one, at 11am on 22nd October at Federation Square, Melbourne.
If your members would visit the Facebook Link above and indicate their intent to participate in the rally, that will assist greatly in the good organisation of this very worthwhile event.
Kind regards
Judi Buchan
Pro-K9 Dog Training & Behaviour Consultancy
03 9707 1424
0419 204 023
Email :
[email protected]
Web : www.ProK9.com.au"