Dangerous Dogs Act 1991

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the topic of large aggressive dogs increasingly became a public issue in the UK. The concept of threats to public safety were cemented by two or three high-profile media attacks on members of the public, children and postal workers. However, rottweilers rather than pitbulls were the key breeds mainly referred to in the press. Through media pressure and supported by discussion on newly established breakfast TV channels, there began calls for swift government action to address what was described as a growing public menace, now referred to as dangerous dogs.

In 1991, following public and then political pressure, the Conservative government under John Major devised the Dangerous Dogs Act (DDA) 1991 to regulate the perceived problem.

As the RSPCA often reminds us, any dog can be dangerous. In the UK, under the DDA 1991 legislation a dangerous dog is defined as ‘any dog that is dangerously out of control … on any occasion on which there are grounds for reasonable apprehension that it will injure any person, whether or not it actually does so …’ (section 10(3)). In addition to defining when dogs can be considered dangerous, the government sought to prohibit specific breeds. Four dog types are prohibited under section 1: the pitbull terrier, Japanese tosa, dogo argentino and fila brazilero. The DDA 1991 bans ownership, breeding, sale, exchange and advertising for sale of these specified breeds of fighting dogs. Cross-breeds of those dogs are also covered by the legislation, while the Animal Welfare Act 2006 requires that owners are responsible for the behaviour of their pets. Table A1 sets out the UK dangerous dog legislation.

None of the prohibited dogs belongs to a recognised breed in the UK and thus the word ‘type’ is used. Section 1 therefore applies both to ‘pure-bred’ pitbull terriers and to any dog of the type known as a pitbull terrier. Assessment is undertaken depending on the characteristics, both physical and behavioural, of the prohibited type (Defra, 2003).

Section 3 of the Act address dogs ‘dangerously out of control in a public place’. This refers to any dog that may be seized and kept in custody, with the owner fined or imprisoned for up to six months. If the dog then inflicts injury, the owner may be liable for up to two years’ imprisonment. Controversially, the Act does not cover private places.