❓ A Western Australian parliamentary question addresses the Dog Amendment Bill 2013, inquiring about dog registration fee waivers, dangerous dogs, defining 'unduly mischievous' behaviour, pit bull terrier attack statistics, and breed identification by vets. The Minister provides answers and incorporates NSW dog attack data into Hansard.
AnsweredQoN 621Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
DOG AMENDMENT BILL 2013
621. Hon LYNN MacLAREN to the
minister representing the Minister for Local Government:
(1) In the
proposed Dog Amendment Bill 2013, under what circumstance is the dog
registration fee waived?
(2) Is it
possible to waive a fee if a dog is a dangerous dog?
(3) If no to
(2), why not?
(4) Please
describe what makes a dog ''unduly mischievous''.
(5) Please
provide current Australian statistics on pit bull terrier attacks compared to
attacks by other dogs.
(6) Can
Australian vets identify a pit bull terrier based on appearance?
621. Hon LYNN MacLAREN to the
minister representing the Minister for Local Government:
(1) In the
proposed Dog Amendment Bill 2013, under what circumstance is the dog
registration fee waived?
(2) Is it
possible to waive a fee if a dog is a dangerous dog?
(3) If no to
(2), why not?
(4) Please
describe what makes a dog ''unduly mischievous''.
(5) Please
provide current Australian statistics on pit bull terrier attacks compared to
attacks by other dogs.
(6) Can
Australian vets identify a pit bull terrier based on appearance?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question. In preparation for the debate on the Dog Amendment
Bill 2013, I asked to be sent a range of photographs of the dogs that the
member is referring to, so if someone asked me if I knew what they looked like,
I would be able to say yes.
Hon Ken Travers : The honourable member is the full kennel
on dogs now!
Hon HELEN MORTON : Absolutely.
(1) Under proposed new section 15(4A), a
local government has the power to discount or waive a registration fee for any
individual dog or any class of dog within its district. This will be at the
discretion of the local government.
(2) No; proposed new section 15(4B) applies.
(3) A person who chooses to keep a dangerous
dog needs to be able to bear the costs of providing additional measures to
protect members of the public. It makes no logical sense to provide them with a
discount or waiver of their registration fees.
(4) A local government can, under section 16
of the current Dog Act 1976, refuse to renew the registration of a dog or
cancel such registration where the dog has been shown to be unduly mischievous
to the satisfaction of the local government. This would occur if there had been
repeated offences under the act, such as under sections 31 to 33A, which are as
a result of the dog continually escaping from the owner's property.
(5) Only New South Wales has mandatory
reporting of dog attacks. I seek leave to have further information incorporated
into Hansard .
The PRESIDENT : Could the minister briefly describe the
information.
Hon HELEN MORTON : Mr President, it is a full outline of what
takes place in New South Wales in relation to the question about current
Australian statistics on pit bull terrier attacks compared to attacks by other
dogs.
Leave granted.
The following material was incorporated —
In New South Wales
(NSW), the Companion Animals Act 1998 ,
as amended in 2008, requires that councils report information to the NSW
Division of Local Government, within the Department of the Premier and Cabinet,
of dog attacks within 72 hours of receiving the information.
A dog attack can
include any incident where a dog rushes at, attacks, bites, harasses or chases
any person or animal (other than vermin), whether or not any injury is caused
to the person or animal.
In March 2012, the
Department released a report covering Council
Reports of Dog Attacks in NSW 2010/11 .
87 attacks were by
pure-breed Pit Bull Terriers. With 2,567 pure-breed Pit Bull Terriers on the
register, this represents an attack rate of 3.4 per 100 dogs on the register.
Only Tibetan Mastiffs had a higher attack rate but as only two attacks occurred
with 43 on the register, these numbers are too small to draw a conclusion about
the aggressiveness of that breed.
Of cross-breed
dogs, Pit Bull Terriers accounted for 50 attacks. With 1,287 cross-breed Pit
Bull Terriers on the register, this represents an attack rate of 3.9 per 100
dogs in the register. This was the fourth highest rate of attack after St
Bernard, British Bulldog and Dogue de Bordeaux, but these only accounted for
four, six and four attacks respectively, and had registered numbers of 58, 101
and 87.
The pure-breed Pit
Bull Terrier had the highest rate of attack in 2005/06 and 2007/08, second
highest in 2006/07 and 2009/10, and the third highest in 2008/09.
The cross-breed
Pit Bull Terrier had the highest rate of attack in 2006/07, 2007/08 and
2008/09, fourth highest in 2005/06, and fifth highest in 2009/10.
Over the six years
that data has been collected and collated on dog attacks in New South Wales, the
Pit Bull Terrier—whether a pure-breed or a cross-breed—has
never been outside the top five most dangerous dogs, and five times it has
headed the table.
No other breed of
dog has appeared in the top five of the twelve lists of most dangerous dog
breeds (pure and crosses) more than seven times, compared to twelve by Pit Bull
Terriers.
523 dog attacks in
New South Wales over the six years were attributed to Pit Bull Terriers.
(6)
The Dog Amendment Bill 2013 does not require a veterinarian to identify a pit bull
terrier based on appearance.
some notice of the question. In preparation for the debate on the Dog Amendment
Bill 2013, I asked to be sent a range of photographs of the dogs that the
member is referring to, so if someone asked me if I knew what they looked like,
I would be able to say yes.
Hon Ken Travers : The honourable member is the full kennel
on dogs now!
Hon HELEN MORTON : Absolutely.
(1) Under proposed new section 15(4A), a
local government has the power to discount or waive a registration fee for any
individual dog or any class of dog within its district. This will be at the
discretion of the local government.
(2) No; proposed new section 15(4B) applies.
(3) A person who chooses to keep a dangerous
dog needs to be able to bear the costs of providing additional measures to
protect members of the public. It makes no logical sense to provide them with a
discount or waiver of their registration fees.
(4) A local government can, under section 16
of the current Dog Act 1976, refuse to renew the registration of a dog or
cancel such registration where the dog has been shown to be unduly mischievous
to the satisfaction of the local government. This would occur if there had been
repeated offences under the act, such as under sections 31 to 33A, which are as
a result of the dog continually escaping from the owner's property.
(5) Only New South Wales has mandatory
reporting of dog attacks. I seek leave to have further information incorporated
into Hansard .
The PRESIDENT : Could the minister briefly describe the
information.
Hon HELEN MORTON : Mr President, it is a full outline of what
takes place in New South Wales in relation to the question about current
Australian statistics on pit bull terrier attacks compared to attacks by other
dogs.
Leave granted.
The following material was incorporated —
In New South Wales
(NSW), the Companion Animals Act 1998 ,
as amended in 2008, requires that councils report information to the NSW
Division of Local Government, within the Department of the Premier and Cabinet,
of dog attacks within 72 hours of receiving the information.
A dog attack can
include any incident where a dog rushes at, attacks, bites, harasses or chases
any person or animal (other than vermin), whether or not any injury is caused
to the person or animal.
In March 2012, the
Department released a report covering Council
Reports of Dog Attacks in NSW 2010/11 .
87 attacks were by
pure-breed Pit Bull Terriers. With 2,567 pure-breed Pit Bull Terriers on the
register, this represents an attack rate of 3.4 per 100 dogs on the register.
Only Tibetan Mastiffs had a higher attack rate but as only two attacks occurred
with 43 on the register, these numbers are too small to draw a conclusion about
the aggressiveness of that breed.
Of cross-breed
dogs, Pit Bull Terriers accounted for 50 attacks. With 1,287 cross-breed Pit
Bull Terriers on the register, this represents an attack rate of 3.9 per 100
dogs in the register. This was the fourth highest rate of attack after St
Bernard, British Bulldog and Dogue de Bordeaux, but these only accounted for
four, six and four attacks respectively, and had registered numbers of 58, 101
and 87.
The pure-breed Pit
Bull Terrier had the highest rate of attack in 2005/06 and 2007/08, second
highest in 2006/07 and 2009/10, and the third highest in 2008/09.
The cross-breed
Pit Bull Terrier had the highest rate of attack in 2006/07, 2007/08 and
2008/09, fourth highest in 2005/06, and fifth highest in 2009/10.
Over the six years
that data has been collected and collated on dog attacks in New South Wales, the
Pit Bull Terrier—whether a pure-breed or a cross-breed—has
never been outside the top five most dangerous dogs, and five times it has
headed the table.
No other breed of
dog has appeared in the top five of the twelve lists of most dangerous dog
breeds (pure and crosses) more than seven times, compared to twelve by Pit Bull
Terriers.
523 dog attacks in
New South Wales over the six years were attributed to Pit Bull Terriers.
(6)
The Dog Amendment Bill 2013 does not require a veterinarian to identify a pit bull
terrier based on appearance.
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