Queensland Dangerous Dog Laws consultation

The AVA have provided a submission to the Queensland Government consultation on proposed changes to the Queensland Animal Management (Cats and Dogs) Act 2008 to better protect their community from dangerous dogs. This submission was compiled through AVA member and subject matter expert input, and consistent with the AVA’s comprehensive report; Dangerous Dogs – A Sensible Solution.

This report sets out the facts about dog bites in Australia, along with a detailed critique of breed-specific legislation that bans particular breeds of dog perceived to be more inclined to be aggressive. The AVA, along with the national veterinary associations of Britain, the United States and Canada, has recognised that breed-specific approaches to dog regulation are not effective as they do not protect the public by reducing dog bite incidents.

The AVA is advocating a legislative approach based on the identification of individual potentially dangerous animals and preventing them from inflicting harm.
To develop this model, the AVA has:
• reviewed relevant legislation in Australia
• reviewed overseas initiatives and their results in reducing dog bite incidents
• drawn on the scientific literature for the most up-to-date information on dog behaviour and welfare
• identified the key elements of dog management legislation in relation to dangerous dogs and dog attacks
• developed the key principles and elements of a model legislative framework.

The AVA supports the Queensland Government in a desire to improve dog laws to better protect the community and promote responsible pet ownership in Queensland, as the AVA supports improvement of dog laws to better protect the community and promote responsible pet ownership. This must be achieved through a data-driven and evidence-based collaboration with scientific experts in veterinary medicine and canine behaviour. And while regulation is an important foundation, to reduce dog bites an effective policy response must encompass several strategies.

The AVA advocates an evidence-based approach that recognises that the likelihood of any individual dog biting is complex and multi-factorial and is not because of a dog’s breed. Control measures that focus solely on breed risks giving the community a false sense of safety. We encourage collaboration with experts from relevant fields to determine appropriate penalties, including their effectiveness, and strategies for enforcing regulations involving dog bite incidents.

The AVA would like to see data pertaining to dog aggression incidents better collected, monitored and evaluated, as there is a need for more comprehensive data to inform policy decisions. This includes data on dog bites, including the demographics of victims, dog signalment, and circumstances of the bite.

The importance of being proactive rather than reactive when it comes to addressing dog behaviour issues cannot be overstated. We believe that governments’ attentions should be focused on prevention rather than consequences.

There is a significant gap in community knowledge about how to live alongside and interact with animals, particularly dogs. This lack of understanding can lead to unsafe interactions and increase the risk of dog attacks. There is a highly important need for a well-designed and effective education program directed at all segments of society, particularly children, and dog owners in lower socio-economic areas.

An evidence-based community education campaign can inform the public about the importance of positive reinforcement training and steer them toward qualified trainers who use effective and humane methods. To ensure the campaign is evidence based and effective, it is essential to collaborate with relevant organizations and veterinary subject matter experts, such as Veterinary Psychiatrists (previously known as Behavioural Specialists), the AVA, and accredited providers offering courses in animal behaviour and training.

The capacity to implement and enforce, as well as the effectiveness of, any proposed amendments must also be carefully and thoroughly reviewed prior to legislative changes being made.

Breed-specific legislation generally refers to laws that target specific breeds of dogs. This legislative approach has been used by a large number of jurisdictions in an effort to address the issue of aggressive and dangerous dogs in the community. The legislation has generally taken the form of either banning or placing stringent restrictions on the ownership of certain breeds of dog.

The AVA does not believe that breed-based approaches reduce public risk. The AVA is opposed to breed-based dog control measures because the evidence shows that they do not and cannot work.
The failure of breed-specific legislation to prevent dog attacks is due to a number of factors;
• breed on its own is not an effective indicator or predictor of aggression in dogs,
• it is not possible to precisely determine the breed of the types of dogs targeted by breed-specific legislation by appearance or by DNA analysis,
• the number of animals that would need to be removed from a community to have a meaningful impact on hospital admissions is so high that the removal of any one breed would have negligible impact,
• breed-specific legislation ignores the human element whereby dog owners who desire this kind of dog will simply substitute another breed of dog of similar size, strength and perception of aggressive tendencies.

The "Deed not Breed" principle needs to be applied, which asserts that aggression in dogs is not tied to any particular breed but is influenced by various individual factors and circumstances, not breed alone. Dog bites are the result of a complex behaviour caused by the interaction of many factors.

The AVA recommends that a more effective approach to preventing incidents of aggression is to investigate reported incidents accurately and thoroughly, including the individual circumstances surrounding each incident and focusing on responsible dog ownership and education.

We recommend that an individualised approach to dog aggression be adopted. As every aggression incident involving a dog is unique, there should not be a 'one size fits all' approach when it comes to requirements for owners of restricted dogs. Instead, careful consideration of how such restrictions affect animal welfare should be taken into account, recognizing that dogs are sentient beings deserving of respect and kindness even in restrictive environments.

The AVA provided an additional submission in December 2023 to the legislation amendment related to this consultation and appeared at a Parliamentary Inquiry in March 2024.