Councillors have heaped praise on a Telegraph & Argus campaign to stop the menace of dangerous dogs.

Yesterday the T&A launched a Curb the Danger Dogs Campaign in a bid to prevent more people in the district falling victim to dog attacks.

And last might councillors unanimously voted through a motion calling on the Government to take action - and backed the T&A campaign.

"I hope the full Council will join me in congratulating and applauding the Telegraph & Argus for the campaign they have launched," said Councillor Mohammad Masood (Con, Heaton).

"I have received a number of calls from people who have been victims of attacks by dogs pleading for the tightening up of legislation so that irresponsible dog owners are brought to justice. But these calls may be just the tip of the iceberg."

The campaign was also praised by the Labour group leader Ian Greenwood (Little Horton).

He said: "I don't believe anybody should own a dog bred for aggression in an ordinary urban situation. A dog can do as much damage to you as a car accident and to have a situation where there is no compulsory registration is untenable.

"Any dog on the street should be apprehended by a dog warden or the police and the owner identified. If the owners were carrying a loaded gun around they would end up in jail."

Coun Masood went on to suggest that other family members should be made responsible for controlling their dog - rather than just the named owner.

He called for the Council to reintroduce its out-of-hours dog warden service to respond to emergency situations.

In 1991, six-year-old Rukhsana Khan was left with horrific injuries after being mauled by a Pit Bull Terrier.

Her plight led to the introduction of the Dangerous Dogs' Act. But a number of loopholes have prompted both the T&A and the Council to push for a further tightening of the laws.

Our campaign - backed by Coun Masood's motion - calls for:

  • Compulsory dog registration for all breeds;
  • Microchipping of all dogs allowing owners to be traced;
  • Mandatory life bans from dog ownership for anyone convicted of having a dangerous dog;
  • A record of control orders to be kept on a dog's registration and for the creation of a specific offence of allowing a dog to stray.
A petition being gathered by the community safety campaign group SAFE is calling on the Council to enforce the legislation designed to protect the public from dangerous dogs.

And SAFE members want the number of dog wardens in the district to be increased. The petition will be handed over to the Council on Friday.

e-mail: jo.winrow@bradford.newsquest.co.uk

HOW YOU CAN SIGN OUR PETITION

You can back our Curb the Danger Dogs Campaign by signing our petition, which will be submitted to the Home Secretary, John Reid.

We want to collect as many signatures as possible in the next month to show Mr Reid the strength of feeling in the district about the inadequacies of the Dangerous Dogs Act and to put pressure on him to better protect the public against dog attacks by acting on the changes to the law we have outlined on the petition.

You can support our campaign simply by adding your own name on the petition online at our publication's website www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk. Or you can print out the petition and ask family, friends and colleagues to sign as well. The more signatures we receive, the stronger our message.

But whatever you can do will add weight to our campaign and help to make it clear to Mr Reid the strength of public feeling regarding the desperate need to change the current law.

Remember, you need to return copies of the petition to the T&A (the address is at the foot of the form) by Thursday, October 12.

We will then submit all the forms we receive to the Home Office.

Click here to sign the petition on-line

Or click here to download a copy of the petition to print out