Seven people arrive at Victorian hospitals with dog bite injuries on a daily basis – a percentage that had increased by 48 per cent since 2002.
The story of four-year-old Alivia Dowling, a Melbourne girl who got bitten in the face by a staffy, comes only days after two pit-bulls attacked and killed two pets in addition to seriously injuring a person in Canberra.
The Dowling family have spoken in support of a parliamentary review of dangerous dog laws, as the girl has suffered serious facial injuries from underneath her eyes to her hairline.
As of Tuesday, the Victorian Legislative Council inquiry has resumed, examining the effectiveness of Victoria’s restricted breed laws.
Five breeds of dogs, including pit bulls, are currently restricted in Victoria and the inquiry will review the laws based on the number of attacks. It is worth mentioning that most dog bite victims were under the age of four.
The Responsible Pet Ownership program, however, supports that education for dog owners would be more effective than expanding the breeding restrictions to more dogs.
Brad Griggs of Canine Services International has slammed the state’s Legislative Council inquiry into restricted dog breeds.
“The problem with Victoria’s laws – which define certain breeds as dangerous and allow councils to seize specific breeds if they have been bought after September 30, 2011 – is they conflated breed with type,” he said, stressing that “we need to separate breed versus type, behaviour versus appearance”.
“A type is a physical appearance, while a breed acknowledges the blood line of animals and it has a genetic basis; a dog’s behaviour cannot be predicted based on its appearance or genetics alone,” Mr Griggs explained.
Meanwhile, two million primary school and kindergarten students across Victoria have now been educated in dog safety and what it means to be a responsible pet owner thanks to a landmark Victorian government program.
Since 2000, the program has made 14,266 school visits and 18,207 kindergarten visits, and has educated over two million children in responsible pet ownership and safety around dogs by employing over 50 trained pet educators.
The Responsible Pet Ownership program is funded through the Domestic Animals Trust throughout metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria and has recently been implemented by New South Wales and South Australia.
“Thanks to this great program, two million Victorian children know what to do if they encounter a dog being aggressive and how to keep themselves and their families safe,” Minister for Agriculture Jaala Pulford said, adding that every child now has the opportunity to learn how to be safe around dogs.
“For 15 years, the program has shared important dog safety messages in primary schools, kindergartens, maternal health centres and maternity hospitals in our community and throughout the state,” Oakleigh MP Steve Dimopoulos added.
In addition, the We Are Family component of the program educates expectant and new parents on the many advantages of allowing their child to experience the joys of having a pet in the family. We Are Family is free to all hospitals with antenatal programs and all maternal and child health centres.
Source: AAP, 9News, www.vic.gov.au