Dog owners in England and Wales are facing new legislation that would enforce third-party insurance covering against possible attacks by ‘man’s best friend’. The government has grown increasingly concerned about dangerous breeds with more than 100 people each week being admitted to hospital after dog attacks, according to the BBC.

It is thought that illegal dog breeds are being used both as status symbols and weapons by many of their owners. The 1991 Dangerous Dogs Act banned ownership of the pit bull terrier, the Japanese tosa, the dogo Argentino and the fila Brasileiro. Police were also granted additional powers, enabling them to take whatever action necessary to deal with any breed of dangerous dog if it loses control in a public place.

Labour has proposed compulsory third-party insurance, micro-chipping and an amendment to the current Dangerous Dogs Act. The suggested amendment would result in any injury on private property being covered by the Act, protecting workers who have to visit homes in order to do their job. A spate of attacks on children, postal workers and telecoms engineers has triggered calls for definitive action that would ensure compensation for those injured.

The CWU postal union general secretary Billy Hayes said: “Thousands of our members are attacked at work every year. This reform cannot come soon enough.”

The RSPCA and the government want to encourage sensible ownership of dogs, and these new proposals are seen as the best way to enforce changes in the behaviour of those acting irresponsibly.

With confirmation expected soon, it is worth checking out pet insurance policies; there is a 33% online discount with Tesco, 2 months free with Direct Line and policies starting at £4.44 per month with More Than. These insurers all offer policies that incorporate third-party cover.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 10th, 2010 at 11:00 am and is filed under Pet Insurance. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.