Dog owners walk free from court after their pet mauled animal to death in park

UNITED KINGDOM -- A dog owner whose pet was mauled to death in a north London park has told of his disbelief after the owners of the killer animal walked free from court.

Tony Cumberbatch, 71, has called for tighter laws around dog ownership after a Staffordshire Bull Terrier killed his 13-year-old Border Collie and German Shepherd cross Shaka, in Clissold Park, Hackney, last July.

The other dog's owners faced no further action after a court case concluded last week. The pair are now due to have their pet returned to them.

Mr Cumberbatch, who was given a Jack Russell and Border Collie cross called Ozzy by Battersea Cats and Dogs Home after his story was originally publicised, said he "could not believe" the court result.

He told the Standard: "The whole thing was a disgrace - a total shambles considering what I have been through. Their defense was that the boys who owned the dog were not there when it attacked so they could not be blamed.

"I had been told it was a cut and dry case. But it was so sad - I could not believe what was happening.
 It is like the victim becomes the accuser. I was shocked - I did not think I could lose the case. How can I be wrong?"

Stratford Magistrates Court heard the dog was out in the park by itself when it mauled Shaka. The owners were not at home at the time.

They faced a charge of owning a dangerous dog but the case was thrown out by magistrates.

Calling for new legislation to tackle the owners of dangerous dogs, he said: "Children have died and nothing is being done."

Dog owners can currently only be prosecuted under the 1871 Dogs Act if their animal attacks another animal, whilst the Dangerous Dogs Act can be applied to dog on human violence.

Sergeant Peter Madden, who leads the Met's Status Dogs Unit, said police in London had seen a 20 per cent rise in the number of dangerous dogs seized in the capital last year.

He said he expected his unit to spend all of its two million pound budget assigned by Scotland Yard this year.

Commenting on Mr Cumberbatch's case, he said: "If a dog attacks another dog in a park, then the Dangerous Dogs Act would not be relevant legislation. The court can order than the dog be put under better control. They can order for the dog to be destroyed. But with any court process, there are two sides to the story."

(Evening Standard - Jan 22, 2015)