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A dog has been seized by police in Hendredenny over concerns it could be a banned breed.
Gwent Police carried out a search warrant at a property at around 2.30pm on Sunday February 26.
As well as the dog, police have said mobile phones, drugs and a “substantial amount” of money have also been seized.
Police said a 37-year-old man from the Hendredenny area is helping officers with enquiries.
However, police did not confirm which street it happened on as it “would identify the persons involved”.
In the UK, four breeds of dog are banned under the Dangerous Dogs Act.
What is the Dangerous Dogs Act?
The 1991 Dangerous Dog Act is a set of laws that limits the public to what breed of dog they can and can’t own, as well as outlining their responsibilities as owners, in keeping control of potentially dangerous dogs.
The list of prohibited dogs are:
- Pit Bull Terrier
- Japanese Tosa
- Dogo Argentino
- Fila Brasileiro
In 2014, an amendment was made to the act which extended it to cover private property. Prior to this, the Act was only applicable to public spaces.
The punishment for owning any of the previously mentioned breeds varies from a £1,000 fine to six months’ imprisonment.
If any dog was to be the direct cause of loss of life and showed signs of being a ‘dangerous dog’ before the attack, the owner of such a dog could face up to 14 years’ imprisonment.
On deciding whether a dog was potentially dangerous or not prior to an attack, the court is asked to assess the temperament of the dog and also the owner’s ability to control such a dog.
According to figures from the Office for National Statistics, between 2000 and 2019, a total of 64 people in England and Wales lost their lives as a result of an attack by a dog.
Earlier this month, it was confirmed that 13 dogs suspected to be banned breeds have been seized by police in the Caerphilly basin and Aber Valley in 2023 alone.
This was revealed by Gwent Police Inspector Rhys Caddick, who covers the Caerphilly South and Bedwas area, in an email to local councillors.
The email, dated February 3, came after police carried out an emergency search warrant at a property in Penyrheol – an area that has seen two fatal dog attacks in the last 18 months.
Ten-year-old Jack Lis died in November 2021 after an attack on Pentwyn, while Shirley Patrick, 83, died in December 2022 after an attack on nearby Heol Fawr.
Last month, Caerphilly’s Labour MP Wayne David told Prime Minister Rishi Sunak the Dangerous Dogs Act is “woefully inadequate”.
Mr David has called for radical changes in the way people own, breed, and sell dogs in the UK – including the reintroduction of some sort of licence for dog owners, which would be enforced by local authorities.
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