Ms Nanci Creedon:

The Control of Dogs Act was not breached in any of the cases I have mentioned, nor did it save the individuals' lives.

I am a dog behaviour expert with a master's degree in animal behaviour and welfare and well over a decade of experience working with dogs of all breeds. Most important, I am a mother of two young children. I am passionate about dog bite prevention and minimising the likelihood of a fatal or life-changing dog attack on any member of the public. In this regard, I strongly believe the legislation needs to change.

Everyone is asking what should be done, including the media. The people of Ireland want something done, and this committee itself is calling for legislation that will minimise fatal and serious dog attacks. On the questions of why the attacks are happening and how we should minimise the risk of recurrence, we do not have straight answers because we have no data. As soon as a dog kills a person, it is put to sleep. If it is a serious attack, the person receives medical treatment and everything is forgotten about. We then carry on asking why the attack happened. We need experts to gather the data instead of sweeping things under the rug, which is not helping.

Before any legislation changes, we first need to appoint a dog bite prevention organisation that will appoint members to investigate the events of serious and fatal dog attacks and assess the dogs prior to euthanasia. I am not saying we do not euthanise the dogs; we do. However, we should gather data from them first and then start to build a picture of the characteristics of serious dog bites, with the intention of using the data to build more appropriate legislation.

As it stands, very minimal investigations are carried out by the Garda and dog wardens, who are untrained in this very specialist subject matter. Therefore, appointing dog behaviour experts to investigate incidents from a bite prevention point of view is critical.

Like many, I believe educating the masses will help to minimise the number of dog bites. The Chicago Task Force on Companion Animals and Public Safety determined that responsible ownership is key to reducing canine aggression. The American Veterinary Medical Association Task Force on Canine Aggression and Human–Canine Interactions proposed a six-step approach to minimising dog bites, which is in line with what I would recommend. It proposed to cover identifying issues. It is well known that it is extremely difficult for dog professionals to identify the breed of a mixed breed dog accurately, so we need to find a better way of identifying such dogs initially. The task force also proposed to identify groups, professionals and individuals and develop an advisory council; implement preventive measures and develop a reporting system; engage in data management and analysis; develop educational programmes; and have interactions with the media.

As a dog behaviourist who sees many cases of dog bites and aggressive dog behaviour, I note that the aggressive behaviours could almost always be avoided if dog owners had a better understanding of dog behaviour and how to manage their dogs' environment and handling to minimise their need to carry out aggressive behaviours.

The Internet and social media are filled with incorrect, unscientific,and, quite often, dangerous dog behaviour and training advice. The dog-owning public is turning to the Internet for lack of State-derived advice and education. Educational programmes can be implemented in a variety of ways. The most effective method of owner education would be to legislate to make it mandatory to pass a theory test prior to obtaining a dog licence. As we have learned, a dog of any breed and size can cause a fatality, similar to how a car of any size can cause a fatality. Drivers must be educated to a competent level before taking control of a car that can cause harm if driven in the wrong way. Likewise, dog owners should have to be educated to a competent level before taking control of a dog that can cause harm if handled the wrong way. This theory test could be structured using the exact same model as the current driving theory test and would cover many topics focusing on dog safety and minimising dog bites. Owning a dog should not be cheap, and the funds raised through dog licence applications could be channelled back into educational programmes.

The dog bite prevention organisation would oversee State-run educational campaigns aimed at young children, among others, and conducted through websites and the media.

The dog bite prevention organisation would be appointed to investigate reports of aggressive dogs, providing the public with a go-to body to which to report incidents, and, in turn, would gather data to generate annual reports and give a realistic picture of what is happening in Ireland in respect of dog bites and aggressive behaviours.

As the population of dogs in Ireland continues to grow, dog bites and, unfortunately, dog fatalities are inevitable. As a mother and a dog behaviour expert, I know how critical it is that we do all we can to minimise these incidents and I strongly believe that putting dog behaviour experts at the forefront of creating and implementing legislation would be the best approach.

I thank the Chairman and the committee for their time. I am available to answer any questions and to provide any support or guidance I can in any way to help oversee this and to decrease the number of dog bites.