More than 170 of the region's postmen attacked by dogs (From Darlington and Stockton Times)
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Report reveals 170 dog attacks on region's postal workers in a year
12:10am Friday 23rd November 2012 in News
MORE than 170 of the region’s postmen and women were attacked by dogs in the space of just one year.
The news comes as an independent report published today (November 23) calls for tougher punishment for the owners of dogs who attack postal workers.
Between April 2011 and April 2012, more than 3,000 people were attacked by dogs across the UK as they delivered mail.
Of those, 87 were in the NE postcode area centred on Tyneside, 29 were in the DL code area which covers Darlington, 27 were in the TS area of Teesside, 17 in the DH area which covers most of County Durham and 13 in the SR area of Wearside.
An inquiry, led by former High Court Judge Sir Gordon Langley, recommends new laws be introduced with tougher legal sanctions against owners of dangerous dogs.
The report highlights that while there are laws against the owners of dogs who attack in public places, sanctions for an attack on private property in England and Wales are largely directed against the dog itself, such as an order for it to be put down.
The Langley Report calls on Parliament to repeal current legislation and remove the loophole, enabling criminal sanctions to be taken against owners of dogs which attack people, wherever the attack takes place.
Such new laws have already been introduced in Scotland and Northern Ireland. The report also calls for the compulsory microchipping of all dogs within three years – to enable dangerous dogs and their owners to be more easily identified.
Donald Brydon, chairman of Royal Mail Group, welcomed the report’s findings.
He said: "Dog attacks cause injuries and terrible trauma to our staff. Nobody should have to endure this and our staff are at an increased risk of such attacks simply because of the job they do".
Comments(4)
swissball
says...
1:21pm Fri 23 Nov 12
will that be you delivering it then :) ffs
judygone
says...
3:32pm Fri 23 Nov 12
Spy Boy wrote:cards have been posted but it still happens .A lot of these attacks are in the street , also this is no laughing matter !
I thought that this was in the job description. It's like an urban myth. A postman being bitten by a dog is an enduring scenario.
On the serious side though, this is a bad situation. Dogs have been territorial for millenia, so the pre-programming is for them to guard their ground. It's for owners to keep tabs on them. Maybe a test case against a particularly bad owner would suffice ? Or a card through the letterbox saying that there will be no more deliveries to this address until the situation is rectified ? Is this too simple an answer ?
Spy Boy
says...
10:51pm Fri 23 Nov 12
Spy Boy says...
1:06pm Fri 23 Nov 12
On the serious side though, this is a bad situation. Dogs have been territorial for millenia, so the pre-programming is for them to guard their ground. It's for owners to keep tabs on them. Maybe a test case against a particularly bad owner would suffice ? Or a card through the letterbox saying that there will be no more deliveries to this address until the situation is rectified ? Is this too simple an answer ?