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Bishop must now wear a ‘dangerous” label |
Bishop, the ‘gentle dog’ freed with a tag
‘Pitbull’ owner fined £100 after eight-month court battle that cost thousands
WITH an expensive bark but a toothless bite, the struggle to tackle dangerous dogs on Camden’s streets was highlighted by an eight-month court battle that ended Thursday.
Bishop, an 18-month-old “long-legged Irish Staffordshire” bull terrier, will return to the streets, sterilised and bearing the label “dangerous dog”.
The case has cost the taxpayer around £6,000 despite the fact the police’s own experts agree that he presents no danger. Seized in December during a four-day police crackdown on “pitbull-types”, Bishop will be neutered, tattooed and microchipped at the Met’s expense, having spent a minimum of 36 weeks in police kennels at a cost of £14 a day – a minimum total cost of £3,500.
A two-and-a-half-day trial at Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court ended in a conviction and £100 fine for owner Terence McGirr, from Somers Town.
He described the process as “a fortune wasted on a nightmare for us and our dog”.
Police vet Jane Robson gave evidence of Bishop’s good nature but what police expert Nikki Day described as his “well-developed jaw, slightly lippy, shoulders wide skin around the neck, thick and loose,” were among the traits found to class him a pitbull-type.
He is therefore subject to destruction under the Dangerous Dogs Act although JP Valerie Murray-Chandra commuted his sentence to neutering and marking provided Mr McGirr enters him on the Dangerous Dogs Register.
Solicitor Tina Hay, from Hine and Associates, took on the legal aid case. She is convinced that the emphasis on “type”, dictated by a set of rules laid down by the American Pitbull Breeders Association in 1977, misses the point. She said: “A huge amount of taxpayers’ money has been spent, with the end result that this dog is returned home. There was no suggestion that the dog is anything other than a gentle, well-behaved dog – but simply because he has some of the characteristics of a pitbull; the least likely dog in the world to bite someone is a pitbull.”
Hampstead-based PC Mark Garner led the sweep which picked up Bishop and three other suspected pitbull-types last year – an operation which the New Journal observed for several hours. Although primed to respond to major incidents featuring the use of dangerous dogs, the officers involved also scoured the side streets for likely looking animals – which was how Bishop was seized.
On Thursday, PC Garner said: “I am pleased with today’s court result at the end of a long and complex trial – Operation Cranshaw [Camden’s pitbull crackdown] will continue to deal with these issues in response to community concerns surrounding anti-social behaviour.”
The number of dogs being seized in this way has increased dramatically.
Across London between 2001 and 2005, an average of 31 dogs a year were seized. Last year it was closer to 400, and the Met’s kennel costs have spiralled in proportion.
A finance report by the Metropolitan Police Authority in June said a £500,000 overspend “relates principally to higher than budgeted costs of vets and kenneling of dangerous dogs”.
Mr McGirr said: “We love our dog and treat it right, which is why he has such a good nature. But you see these dogs everywhere that are being encouraged to be aggressive.
“They should concentrate on the violent dogs.” |
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Your comments:
Shame on the U.K. for persisting with Breed Specific Legislation despite it's ludicrous and cruel unfairness, You cannot call yourselves a civilised society whilst this appalling legislation persists. Mr McGirr should not be criminalised by the Met's stupidity - he should be compensated for it.
Karen Batchelor
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