Local councils have called out the Queensland government for dragging its feet on important reform to dog containment laws that proponents claim would help address a spate of vicious attacks.
Moreton Bay Mayor Peter Flannery said Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk had “urgently prioritised” a consultation process – first launched in December 2021 – but only after a series of frightening attacks in early 2023.
Five Queenslanders were injured in separate dog attacks across the state over just one week in early 2023, with Moreton Bay council recording 284 attacks in total the previous year.
Kane Minion, 42, a contracted metre reader for Energex, was killed when he was mauled by a bandog bull-mastiff cross and a Rhodesian ridgeback cross in the suburb of Greenbank, south of Brisbane.
Just recently, there have been a spate of attacks involving young children, including six-year-old Laquarna Chapman Palmer who suffered horrific chest, abdominal, and shoulder injuries.
She had been playing on a fence in Woodridge, in Logan, when a neighbour’s bull mastiff pulled her off. She was saved by her uncle Reece Chapman.
Just days later, a three-year-old lady suffered severe accidents to her head and neck when she was attacked by a canine at her grandmother’s residence on the northern Gold Coast.
“It’s devastating to think that it’s taken these kinds of horrific attacks to put this important issue back on the agenda,” Mr Flannery mentioned.
“Our position has been clear, councils need strengthened powers to investigate and manage serious dog attacks.”
In Queensland, particular guidelines apply to house owners of harmful or menacing canine, together with obligatory registration, the carrying of a novel canine collar and tag, and maintaining the canine in a safe, childproof enclosure.
Mr Flannery mentioned the council had taken steps to harden its personal guidelines round canine possession following an assault on a younger youngster in 2007, together with a zero-tolerance coverage in direction of harmful canine.
Faced with strain from the Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ), the state authorities introduced in late 2021 it might overview its Animal Management Act and the tribunal course of in session with councils.
LGAQ chief government Alison Smith mentioned councils had urged “desperately needed” modifications, together with improved powers for council officers.
“Dangerous dogs are a critical issue for communities and councils have worked hard to find sensible, workable solutions to a growing problem that often has terrible, and even tragic, consequences,” Ms Smith mentioned.
“Hardworking council officers have dedicated their time and their knowledge to progressing much-needed legislative changes over many months on the animal management taskforce.
“It’s vital this work progresses quickly so that state and local governments together can deliver improved safety outcomes in communities across Queensland.”
Queensland Agriculture Minister Mark Furner convened a gathering in April of the animal administration taskforce, which proposed strict new measures on canine possession.
The proposed modifications would come with a “sliding scale” of penalties relying on the severity of an assault, with house owners liable to jail time for assaults that end in grievous hurt or demise.
Other proposed modifications included a statewide ban on restricted breeds – 5 breeds are restricted in Australia – and on-the-spot fines for house owners of canine discovered to be off leash.
Mr Furner mentioned neighborhood security was a high precedence for the state authorities.
“The taskforce working group has met monthly since September 2022 and the taskforce was scheduled to meet in May,” he mentioned.
“The taskforce also met in April to address an issue of significant public concern.
“I look forward to consulting with the wider public on the taskforce’s proposed legislative changes soon.”
The taskforce will meet for the fourth time this month, and it’s anticipated {that a} dialogue paper on its proposed modifications to the Animal Management Act 2008 will probably be accomplished quickly. The dialogue paper will then be launched for public session.
Further south, native councils in NSW have additionally confronted high-profile canine assaults.
In February, five-week-old Mia Jade Riley was sleeping in her bassinet outdoors her grandmother’s home in Moruya, on the NSW south coast, when she was attacked by two rottweilers with out warning.
Eurobodalla Shire Council confirmed the canine had been put down following the assault.
In an announcement, a council spokesperson mentioned the council had not obtained any studies that the rottweilers had been harmful, solely a variety of noise complaints that had been actioned.
In Sydney, the Blacktown LGA reported the best variety of canine assaults all through late-2022, with 767 canine assaults reported within the final quarter of that 12 months.
Source: www.news.com.au
