Concern over dog attacks on posties
Dog owners could be forced to take more responsibility for animals that attack postmen and women.
Royal Mail has said it welcomes an independent report which calls for new legislation against owners of dogs that attack its staff.
Between April 2011 to April 2012 42 postmen and women were attacked by dogs in the Bath postcode area.
More than 130 were attacked during the same period across the Bristol, Bath and Taunton postcode areas, and more than 3,000 nationally.
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The report was the result of an inquiry commissioned by Royal Mail Group’s chairman Donald Brydon and led by former High Court Judge Sir Gordon Langley.
The report highlighted that legal sanctions currently available in England and Wales when dogs attack people on private property are limited to action against the dog.
Tougher measures are available against owners whose dogs attack people in public places but these cannot be applied where the attack takes place on private property.
The Langley Report calls on Parliament to provide a new law, which removes this loophole, enabling legal action to be taken against owners of dogs wherever the attack takes place.
The report also called for the compulsory micro-chipping of all dogs within three years.
Sir Gordon said: “It is a matter of real concern to learn of the extent and frequency of attacks on postal workers and to find that for a considerable time there has been almost general agreement not only on the inadequacies of the present law in England and Wales but also on the nature of the reforms required to address it, but to date it remains unchanged.”
Comments
by tomsjan
Thursday, November 29 2012, 9:16AM
“Quite agree with the dog owners on this one. I have two signs (and NO Clarys dear they are not illegal!) one of which says "No Cold Callers" and directly below is one announcing the presence of a large dog. And yet still they ring the bell! maybe if I changed it to "Cold Callers will be fed to the dog" they might take notice? I have owned large breeds of dog for my whole life and never has one of them bitten anyone - owning dogs is a lot like bringing up children. There are no bad children, just bad parents and the same applies to dog owners.”
by mcupis
Wednesday, November 28 2012, 3:55PM
“It does if people enter your property uninvited.”
by rottidog
Wednesday, November 28 2012, 3:54PM
“I didn't say it did actually...... and my dog is fine with anyone I LET in and introduce her to - even shakes a paw. Just don't come in uninvited! So now you are an expert on dog ownership as well as traffic?”
by rogerh3
Wednesday, November 28 2012, 3:29PM
“You have a duty of care to officials that are entitled to visit you at your home address - postmen & women, meter readers, telephone engineers, etc. Putting up a warning notice doesn't absolve you of responsibility.”
by InBathBA1
Wednesday, November 28 2012, 2:33PM
“Perhaps for protection Postmen/Postladies could be supplied with kevlar uniforms to prevent the effects of bites from dogs, humans or other life forms depending on the nature of the round...”
by tck
Wednesday, November 28 2012, 2:30PM
“rottidog If someone breaks in then of course! But postmen/women should be able to simply do their job without any risk of harm”
by rottidog
Wednesday, November 28 2012, 2:26PM
“By the same token people shouldn't put themselves where they shouldn't be and encroach on my/my dog's private territory. If I am asleep in my house and someone breaks in they can take their chances with the dog. She would probably bark first but I can't guarantee it!”
by tck
Wednesday, November 28 2012, 2:03PM
“'Could be forced'? People should be taking responsibility anyway.
A dog shouldn't be given an opportunity to attack anyone! I can understand in some cases a new owner might not realize a dog for e.g takes a disliking to a postman for some reason, but then a postman/woman shouldn't have to be faced with a dog when doing their job. I absolutely love dogs but not everyone does. They are animals and can be unpredictable so owners should be doing all they can to make sure no one is caused any harm by them”
by rottidog
Wednesday, November 28 2012, 1:36PM
“Why on earth would it be illegal to put a sign up??? And if someone then ignores it that is their problem - forewarned is forearmed! You might just as well say it is illegal to put a stupid sign in the back of a car saying "baby on board".”
by a1rhellair
Wednesday, November 28 2012, 12:59PM
“If you have a dog that takes exception to postmen..."
A large number of delivery staff are women.
When I worked as a post delivery person, the biggest challenge were dogs. This in an area of London where crime was high and where a 1930s vision of building 'cities to the skies' had miserably failed. The injuries sustained by colleagues as a result of dog attacks is something I don't like to dwell on.
I feel that a dog attacking anyone should be put down and its owner/s fined. They should also be prevented from keeping any domestic pets from thereon.”