Welsh Government needs to act on dog attacks, Plaid MS says

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The Welsh Government needs to act on the issue of dog attacks, a Plaid Cymru Senedd Member has said.

Peredur Owen Griffiths MS raised the issue in the Senedd following the latest dog attack in Caerphilly, which saw a five-month-old baby taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

The attack, on Y Cilgant, Penyrheol, was the third serious dog attack in Penyrheol in just 18 months,

Ten-year-old Jack Lis who attended Cwm Ifor Primary School, died on November 8, 2021,after being attacked at a friend’s house on Pentwyn.

In December last year, 83-year-old Shirley Patrick died as a result of injuries suffered in an attack at her home in Heol Fawr.

Speaking in the Senedd, South Wales East MS Mr Owen Griffiths said: “Only two days before this incident, Plaid Cymru councillor Steve Skivens hosted a meeting in Penyrheol to discuss the need to tackle the wave of serious dog attacks in the community.”

He continued: “During the meeting, it emerged from the police that there is an initiative that’s taken place in the North Wales Police area to tackle dangerous dogs and irresponsible dog ownership, which is often the root cause of problems.

“This initiative has yet to be applied throughout Wales.”

Mr Owen Griffiths called for a “pan-Wales approach that is applied consistently throughout our country” to tackle the issue, and called for a Welsh Government statement on what powers it has to address the issue.

In response, Welsh Government minister Lesley Griffiths said: “There seems to be some sort of cluster, unfortunately, around the Caerphilly area.”

She said she had recently met with Caerphilly’s Labour MS Hefin David and MP Wayne David – who has campaigned heavily on the issue of dangerous dogs – about the matter.

Ms Griffiths continued: “A lot of the legislation around dangerous dogs is UK Government legislation, and I’ve certainly had, well, I’ve tried to have, correspondence with the previous Home Secretary, and also with other UK Government ministers about what we can do at a legislative level to try and improve that.

“A lot of it isn’t fit for purpose – it’s centuries old, literally – and I think it’s really important that that is one thing that we can do.

Mrs Griffiths said responsible dog ownership was a “priority” for her and highlighted the Welsh Government’s code of practice for the welfare of dogs.

Speaking about the North Wales Police scheme raised by Mr Owen Griffiths, the minister said: “I think it’s really important that we keep under constant review what more we can do.”