Media statement
For immediate release
Wednesday, 4 July 2007

Dunne: time to ban dangerous dogs

United Future leader Peter Dunne says that dangerous dog breeds are an unnecessary time bomb that should no longer be in the community.

His comments follow the guilty plea from an owner of a dog that fatally attacked a 56 year-old woman in April.

“Parents don't want to live on a street where their children have to walk past pitbulls on their way to and from school - nor should they have to, in my opinion.

“While some argue that it is bad owners, rather than bad dog breeds, that lead to attacks, the fact remains that these powerful animals have been bred as attack dogs, and the dog attack figures back this up.

“All animals can be unpredictable, and the community is simply not a place for large, aggressive, territorial attack dogs.

“There is no reason that we need to allow dangerous breeds of dogs anymore than we need to allow any other weapons. There are a huge number of other breeds for people to choose from.

“A simple solution would be to require neutering for dogs placed on a ban-list, and place a ban on new animals.

"No one will have to give up their current pet, but the community will soon lose the time bomb living in the yard next door,” says Mr Dunne.

ENDS

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