Baillieu promises to rid Victoria of pit bulls after fatal mauling

UPDATE 5.55pm: DOG owners whose pets kill people could face 20 years' jail under proposed changes, state government warns.

Grieving mother

UPDATE 5.55pm: DOG owners whose pets kill people could face 20 years' jail in a similar law which applies to culpable drivers, the Victorian government says.

The government will crack down on the owners of dangerous dogs after an American pit bull terrier cross killed four-year-old Ayen Chol, mauled to death in St Albans, proposing to increase penalties and possibly change the Crimes Act.

The Nationals deputy leader Peter Walsh said owners should be held responsible for their dogs' actions, similar to people charged with culpable driving.

"These types of dogs have lost their right to exist in Victoria," Mr Walsh said late today.

The amnesty for registering dangerous dogs will end, meaning councils can seize and destroy the animals.

A "dob in a dangerous dog" anonymous hotline will be set up, Mr Walsh said.

Earlier today, Premier Ted Baillieu vowed to do everything possible to rid Victoria of pit bulls but stopped short of banning the dangerous breed.

Mr Baillieu expressed his condolences to the family of four-year-old Ayen.

 "There cannot be a more tragic situation than to see a young child like this, in these circumstances, killed in this horrible horrible way," he said.

"We don't want to see is ever happen again and we will do whatever we possibly can to be rid of these dangerous dogs.

"We want to be rid of these dogs, and we want to be rid of these dogs as soon as we possibly can."

Mr Baillieu pledged to toughen the crimes act to impose criminal penalties and possible jail terms to the owners of dangerous dogs, as well arming local councils with resources to track down unregistered animals.

A 'dob in a dangerous dog' hotline will also be established to enable to public to alert council if there is a suspect dog in their neighbourhood.

Owners could also soon face jail under new laws similar to those faced by culpable drivers.

Even in the most horrific cases the owners of dangerous dogs can only be hit with a $4500 fine under current legislation.

Mr Walsh, Mr Baillieu and Attorney General Robert Clark were locked in talks this morning about overhauling the crimes act to make dog owners responsible for any assaults.

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The Government is also considering changes reversing the onus of proof for what is classified a dangerous dog back onto the animal’s owners.

Under the domestic animals act authorities currently have to prove a dog belongs to a specific breed, meaning the owners of dangerous dogs can use prolonged court battles to delay or prevent any restrictions being imposed on their animals.

If the proposed changes come into place, authorities will be able to immediately classify a dog as being dangerous and it would be up to the owner to then have to prove their dog belonged to a different breed if they wanted it over turned in the courts.

Currently there are 243 dogs in Victoria on the dangerous dogs register, including 42 in Brimbank Council where last night’s tragedy occurred.

Animals on the dangerous dogs register must be microchipped, desexed, muzzled and on a lead in public, and must be kept in a special yard with a sign on the gate.

Acting Victoria Police chief commissioner Ken Lay said the girl's death was an "absolute tragedy" and would reignite the debate about dangerous dogs.

"I wouldn't want one of them (pit bulls) living next to me, that's for sure," he said.

Lost Dogs Home general manager Graeme Smith has called on the State Government to urgently conduct a review of dangerous dog legislation in the wake of the attack.

Mr Smith said the current laws in relation to the keeping of pit bull terriers and pit bull terrier crosses were failing to keep the community safe.

"Pit bull terriers and pit bull terrier crosses should be declared dangerous and then they would have to be desexed, vaccinated and microchipped and kept in enclosures on their property or inside the house," he said.

While purebred pit bulls are a restricted breed, other varieties of the breed are not and they are not subject to any restrictions.

"The Government needs to take the opportunity to take a look at it because the legislation is failing. It is a tragic circumstance and I feel extreme sorrow for the family involved," he said.

Mr Smith said that only 72 pure-bred pit bulls were registered in Victoria but there were as many as 5000 pit bull terriers and pit bull crosses.

"You can't register an American pit bull terrier anymore so what happens is that they arrive and are not registered, they are forced underground or they are registered as a pit bull terrier cross or some other breed," he said.

"Pit bulls should be treated like swimming pools, they should be fenced off from the rest of the community. They are deadly."

St Albans dog attack

Friends and relatives react to the terrible news. Picture: Jon Hargest

But Colin Muir, president of the American Pit Bull Club of Australia, leapt to the defence of the controversial breed in the wake of the fatal attack.

Mr Muir said it was the responsibility of individual owners to keep their dogs under control.

“The reality is that we should be talking about responsible ownership of dogs. The minute you start talking about breeds the response is 'ban a pit bull'. How does that fix the problem? It simply doesn’t,” Mr Muir said.

“The reality is there was a fatal attack by a dog and that really was the end of the matter. The breed of the dog is irrelevant.”

Mr Muir said pit bulls were demonised in the press but the reality was there was about 1300 dog attacks each year in Victoria alone.

Dog behaviour expert Brad Griggs said Victorian legislation restricting pit bull ownership was unreasonable and ineffective in reducing attacks.

“It is scientifically unfounded to rule out entire breeds based specifically on the breed and scientists show that within each breed there is as much variance of behaviour between individuals as between breeds,” Mr Griggs, of the National Dog Trainers Federation, said.

"Two pit bulls can act as differently as a doberman and a Yorkshire terrier."

RSPCA Victoria animal shelters manager Allie Jalbert said pit bulls were more aggressive than other breeds.

“There are a number of breeds that are bred for particular things. Some breeds have a higher propensity for aggression, some breeds have a higher propensity for causing damage if they do bite, and a number of breeds meet that description. Pit bulls are one of those,” Ms Jalbert said.

But she said the owner of the dog needed to be held accountable.

“The fact is this particular dog was roaming loose. Take that out of the equation and this attack wouldn't have happened,” she said.

-  with Jessica Craven, Angus Thompson

Should pit bulls be banned? Vote in our poll, have your say here or use the Twitter hashtag #banthebreed