Fresh calls were made for a change in the law in England and Wales today after a great-grandmother was apparently mauled to death by her daughter’s dogs in her back garden.
The five animals pounced on Gloria Knowles, 71, after she went into the garden to give them their evening meal as a favour to her daughter, Beverley Mason.
The widow was badly injured when the dogs – two ‘giant’ Bordeaux French mastiffs, two American bulldogs and a small mongrel – seemed to suddenly turn on her.
She was found dead at the scene in Morden, South London on Tuesday night.
Currently, in England and Wales, police can only prosecute owners of dogs who harm people if the attack happens in public – and they can only forcibly remove illegal dogs.
THE LAW IN SCOTLAND RELATING TO DANGEROUS DOGS
Follow this link for our comments on dangerous dogs and The Control of Dogs (Scotland)Act:
Our comments on dangerous dogs and the Control of Dogs (Scotland) Act
Today further calls were made for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) to change the law to allow dog control rules to apply everywhere.
As we noted yesterday, the Communications Union CWU, which represents postal workers in the UK, is campaigning to change the law and said the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 is failing to protect both dog owners and attack victims.
They pointed to two incidents where postmen in Cambridge and Sheffield almost lost limbs while carrying out their duties. The man who owned two rottweilers that almost tore off the Cambridge postman’s arm in2008 escaped prosecution.
The tragedy in this incident is that a much-loved mother and grand-mother is dead and a family is left devastated by their loss.