Stricter dog licensing will come into force

FROM Monday, stricter dog licensing terms and other measures - including those dealing with unprovoked dog attacks - will come into force. dogs that have initiated an unprovoked attack and caused injury to a person or animal must undergo obedience training.

Dogs deemed potentially capable of initiating unprovoked attacks on man or animal will have to be leashed and securely muzzled in public, micro-chipped, undergo obedience training and kept on secure premises that will prevent their escape.

This is among new measures taken by the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) to control dog attacks. The owner must also take up a banker's guarantee of $2,000. Another new requirement is an insurance coverage of at least S$100,000 against injury and property damage.

Among the changes, the Perror de Presa Canario will be transferred from Part II to Part I of the potentially dangerous dogs listed in the Second Schedule under the Dog Licensing and Control Rules.

In a Straits Times report in November last year, AVA figures showed that dog biting incidents had jumped from 28 in 2004 to 65 in just five years. The new measures come after a review which was conducted in consultation with stakeholderssuch as dog owners , animal welfare groups, veterinarians and the general public.

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