Dangerous dog laws forcing councils to kill restricted breeds likely to be overturned

EXCLUSIVE: A CONTROVERSIAL dog law forcing councils to confiscate and kill pitbulls and other restricted breeds is likely to be overturned in Victoria.

angry dog with bared teeth

A CONTROVERSIAL dog law forcing councils to confiscate and kill pitbulls and other restricted breeds is likely to be overturned in Victoria.

A long-awaited parliamentary report — to be handed down this month — is expected to recommend scrapping 2012 legislation that resulted in scores of dogs being put on death row in Victoria.

It is understood the Economy and Infrastructure Committee will call for the law to be replaced with stricter housing regulations, and forcing owners of five specified dog breeds to muzzle their animals in public. The report comes after the committee received more than 450 submissions criticising the laws.

The inquiry found the res­tricted breed law had led to three Supreme Court trials and 19 VCAT hearings in Victoria.

The battles have cost local councils hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal bills.

Experts, dog owners and councils spoke out against the laws during the nine-month investigation. The mounting opposition is likely to ensure any recom­mendation of change will be accepted by the Victorian government, but any move seen to lessen the laws will be distressing for dog-bite victims.

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The Australian Veterinary Association told the panel DNA profiling was difficult.

“Assessing whether or not a dog is a restricted breed ­according to the standard is imp­ossible,’’ it said.

“Dogs should be assessed by their behaviour in an incident in which they have been invol­ved — deed not breed.’’

The legislation being prob­ed was rushed through parliament in 2012 after a spate of dog attacks, including the death of Ayen Chol, 4, who was viciously mauled by her neighbour’s pitbull-mastiff ­as she clung to her mother’s leg at their St Albans home in 2011.

Since the laws were introduced, scores of animals have been rounded up by Victorian council workers.

Many had no history of agg­ression, prompting dog owners to launch legal battles to save their beloved pets, including Michael Rexter, who battled for 11 months to save his american staffordshire terriers, ­Brutus and Coco, after they were put on death row in 2013.

“They had never bitten anyone,” he said.

Hume ­council dropped its case against one of Mr Rexter’s dogs in 2014, but the animal continued to show anxiety from its incarceration.

The Municipal Association of Victoria warned councils would continue to face lengthy court battles without change.

The report will be ­tabled in the Victorian parliament on March 22, with a law ­requiring greyhounds to be muzzled outside the home also expected to be shot down.

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