Certain types of dogs are prohibited. The prohibited dog types include Pit Bull Terriers, Japanese Tosas, Dogo Argentinos and Fila Brazilieros.
Your dog must be kept under control in a public place. Any dog which is deemed to be dangerously out of control in a public place could mean the owner ends up with a fine or prison sentence or in some cases both and the dog may be at risk of being destroyed.
What is dangerously out of control?
Any dog which injures a person or behaves in a way that makes a person feel that it might injure them. This applies even if it is in the dog owners own home or garden.
A court could also judge that your dog is dangerously out of control if it injures another person’s animal and/or the owner of the animal thinks they could be injured if they tried to stop the dog attacking their animal.
What should happen?
Anyone that has a dog that is not kept under control or is dangerously out of control should be reported to the police.
Anybody found guilty of having a dog that is out of control may face a fine of up to £1000 and/or imprisonment. A court can also rule that a person is not allowed to own a dog in the future.