More than 160 dangerous dog investigations have taken place throughout Fife since the introduction of “doggie Asbo” legislation two years ago.
The Control of Dogs (Scotland) Act came into force in February 2011 to close a loophole in the Dangerous Dogs Act by judging dogs on their behaviour, rather than their breed and giving powers to impose penalties to irresponsible owners.
Dog owners who do not comply with Dog Control Notices (DCNs or doggie Asbos) can face hefty fines of up to £1,000 and in extreme cases, could even face a prison sentence and have their dogs destroyed.
In the first six months following the legislation there were 693 investigations launched across Scotland. Out of those, 25 of were in Fife, which resulted in five DCNs being served.
Since then, 41 more DCNs have been served on dog owners across the region following 161 investigations, three of which were reported to the Procurator Fiscal.
Graeme Anderson, technical officer within Fife Council’s transportation and environmental services department told The Courier: “The act has proved to be of great assistance to dog control officers in preventing potentially dangerous dogs from causing harm.”
DCNs are issued to owners of dogs which have on at least one occasion been out of control.
They can impose a number of conditions on the dog owner, including muzzling the dog in public, keeping it on a lead, neutering it and ordering the owner and dog to attend and complete a training course in the control of dogs.
Anne McLean who runs Fife charity Help Fife Animals dog management and rescue centre in Leslie praised the council for taking action on rogue dog owners.
“I feel very passionately about this issue as, over the years, I have seen many dogs coming through my doors.
“The main reason being that people often decide to get a dog on a whim and don’t realise the responsibility having one brings with it.
“The minute the dog acts in a certain way that they don’t like, rather than dealing with the behaviour, they decide they will just get rid of it.
“Owning a dog is a privilege and brings many responsibilities which owners must respect.”