Stray Dogs and The Police - Do These People Actually Talk to Each Other?


The Police have been itching to ‘get rid of’ their
responsibility for dealing with stray dogs for some time according to
one very senior officer within the North Wales constabulary.
Stray dogs are a ‘pain’ for the police to deal with.
A modern police force doesn’t want to be anchored down with
looking after strays, and besides, the police ‘aren’t very
good at looking after dogs’ any way.
Interesting stuff.
The above are the thoughts of the Chief Constable of North Wales police, Richard Brunstrom.
He says on his blog

For the police, stray dogs are a pain. The law (dating
from 1907!) still requires the police to accept stray dogs handed in by
members of the public. This is very much an anachronism in
today’s world, and causes the police real difficulty – and
to be honest, we’re not very good at looking after dogs. We have
to maintain facilities at police stations which often cause noise,
welfare and hygiene problems. And there’s the paperwork. All in
all, they’re a real nuisance to us and way removed from our
modern task as a service.
So I’ve been trying to get rid of our remaining duty to accept
strays (most other aspects of stray dog work were long ago picked up by
local authorities). Governments are always claiming to be trying to
reduce police bureaucracy and unnecessary tasks, but they rarely go on
to actually achieve anything once the Minister has had his or her
soundbite.

So, it would appear, this particular police man is fairly
unequivocable in his opinion. Stray dogs are a drag, the police
don’t want or need the hassle and besides, the police
aren’t cut out for looking after dogs anyway.
Interesting. But in a sterling attempt to prove that the hand doesn’t know what the arm is doing….
Yesterday’s edition of the Bradford Telegraph and Argus worries that due to confusion over changeover and a lack of funding, we could be about to enter a period of stray dog uncertainty.
Nestled within the report, John Prentice, director of transport and logistics at West Yorkshire Police, said:

“This issue has come about because of a change in the law, not because the Police no longer wish to take in stray dogs from the public.

While responsibility for dealing with stray dogs now
lies with the relevant local authorities, West Yorkshire Police will
continue to fulfil its obligations with regards to dangerous dogs and
other dog-related criminal matters.”

Which is enough to make one wonder, do police forces actually talk to each other?
North Wales’ chief constable: “I’ve been trying to get rid of our remaining duty to accept strays”
West Yorkshire’s director: “(it is) not because the Police no longer wish to take in stray dogs”
The great Spanish surrealist painter, Salvador Dali once said
“The greatest form of communication is chaos”. Whilst he
may have been able to apply such ‘logic’ to his surreal
world of surreal things, surrounded by his surreal friends and surreal
ideas, perhaps dealing with the impending problems of stray dogs should
be handled with a little more clear thinking?
However, it is comforting to hear such a senior police officer admit
what many people who have had their dog seized under the Dangerous Dogs
Act have known for years:

To be honest, we’re not very good at looking after dogs.

Really? You don’t say…..
[b][url=http://www.dogmagazine.net/archives/442/9-months-locked-up-under-dangerous-dogs-law-now-duke-the-lurcher-cross-is-back-home/]9 Months Locked up Under Dangerous Dogs Law - Now Duke, the Lurcher Cross, is Back Home
[/b][/url] Border Collie Almost Starves to Death in [b]Police ‘Care’
Police Neglect Stray Dog For A Week - No Charges Brought
Family Dog Dies in Police Care[/b]
Perhaps when he says, the police are not very good at looking after
dogs, he might spare a thought for those people who are worrying about
the welfare of the animals seized under the Dangerous Dogs act, now in
the care of the police?
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Ryan O'Meara is editor-in-chief of
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Another fine example of the spin the general public are meant to believe :san54:

Its about time this bloody BSL bull shite was scrapped too, it doesnt work and we clearly dont have the resources to uphold it anyway.

Does anyone actually talk to eachother in authority and ever come up with sense?

bloody marvelous with prats like that up at the top no wonder crime and anything else gets sorted, what a bunch of wankers