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[Subject] 

From a Constituent: Why dog licensing should be on your agenda.

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[Email Body]

Dear [enter MP name]

 

NHS statistics show that dog bite incidents have increased by over 200% since 1999 [1], following the introduction of the Dangerous Dogs Act (1991).

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Hopefully, based on this overwhelming figure, I have caught your attention.

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I am a Constituent at [enter your postcode] and I would like to know where you stand on dog licensing, a topic that I believe should be high on any MP's agenda given the forever increasing rise in dog attacks.

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I would like to draw your attention to the Calgary Model [2], which, to date, is the only legislation in the world that has been conclusively proven to reduce dog bites. 

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Would you be in favour of introducing a licensing scheme in the UK? 

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The campaign group Don't Ban Me, Licence Me have a dog licensing skeleton proposal [3] with five key pillars:

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1. Regulation of breeding

2. Responsibility in ownership

3. Recording of dog bites and incidents

4. Raising awareness and knowledge through education

5. Resources for enforcement

 

This is what is needed in the UK to protect the public, promote responsible dog ownership and education, and improve animal welfare.

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Don't Ban Me, Licence Me are currently waiting for a date later this year at the High Court for a Judicial Review against the government over the XL Bully ban legislation. If the ban is found to be unlawful, this is the perfect opportunity for the government to look at a better solution for the future of dog control in the UK. 

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Are you going to ignore over 30-years of evidence and continue be part of the problem, or are you going to help bring about a better solution?

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This topic is important to me because I have been personally affected by the recent XL Bully ban [please insert your personal experience/story here, how the ban is affecting you etc – this is important for your MP to read your email].

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It is evident that banning breeds is not a solution to the continually escalating dog control issue in the UK. The ban has so far not been successful in reducing dog attacks and does not protect people from incidents within the home, however, we already knew this since the breed specific legislation contained within the Dangerous Dogs Act (1991) does not represent an evidence-based approach and more widely has been ineffective in delivering its stated aims. 

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Dog related incidents and attacks will continue to rise as long as breeding remains unregulated, education is lacking, and the people who use dogs for illicit purposes move onto another breed. Licensing is the solution.

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I am not alone in my opinion, I would like to draw your attention to a petition against the XL Bully ban [4], which received over 600,000 signatures and was passionately debated in parliament by MPs on behalf of their Constituents.
 
I hope you can see that licensing is a solution that any forward-thinking government should be campaigning for.

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If you'd like to read more evidence to support this, please refer to the government's own commissioned responsible dog ownership report from 2021 [5].

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​I look forward to hearing your views on this matter. 

 
Yours sincerely,

 
[insert your title and full name]
 

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1. NHS dog bites statistics: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/hospital-admitted-patient-care-activity

2. Calgary licensing model: https://cumming.ucalgary.ca/sites/default/files/teams/251/MelanieJRock_UCalgary_CalgaryPublicLibrary_v27Oct2021_18h.pdf

3. Dog licensing skeleton proposal: https://www.licenceme.org.uk/licensing-campaign

4. Petition against XL Bully ban: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/643611

5. Responsible Dog Ownership Report: https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/45440/1/1512314_Nurse.pdf

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