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Criminologists speak out on BSL
‘The UK does not have laws that discriminate against human children of criminals, in fear that they may also offend.'
Legislation ‘not in keeping with how humans are dealt with by the law’ 

Criminologists are calling for a move away from banning certain ‘dangerous’ breeds of dog in the UK, and focusing more on the way we, as a society, treat animals.

Dr Adam Lynes and Jenna Page, who are both lecturers in criminology at Birmingham City University, issued a statement on the current controversy over breed specific legislation (BSL), which bans four types of dog.

The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee is currently conducting an inquiry into BSL, which has been criticised for failing to protect the public from dog attacks, as well as negative impacts on dog welfare. Animal rights group, PETA, however, recently called for Staffordshire bull terriers to be added to the banned list.

Lynes and Page argue that BSL - which has led to hundreds of pet dogs being killed, not because of their behaviour, but because of their heritage - is not in keeping with how UK legislation treats humans.

They wrote: ‘The UK does not have laws that discriminate against human children of criminals, in fear that they may also offend. Whilst such positivistic notions were once a popular theoretical position in the early 19th century, criminology and the criminal justice system has since moved away from such deterministic and simplistic notions.

“Our criminal law system is deed (or attempted deed) orientated which is rooted in one of the most important tenets of the criminal justice system: innocent until proven guilty. Sadly, BSL does not extend this closely guarded principle to dogs.”

They further point out that there are ‘astonishingly’ high numbers of recorded animal cruelty cases. In 2017 alone, the RSPCA emergency helpline received over one million calls about animal cruelty and 141,000 cases were investigated.

With this in mind, they said ‘it is clear that perhaps the focus should shift from these supposedly dangerous breeds, and instead ask important questions about how we, as a society, are treating animals more generally.’

BSL critics also argue that since the Dangerous Dogs Act came into force in 1991, hospital admissions due to injuries inflicted by dogs rose by 76 per cent between 2005 and 2015. Furthermore, 21 out of 30 human deaths caused by dog attacks since 1991 involved non-banned breeds.

There are rising calls for the legislation to focus on ‘deed not breed’, making dog owners and handlers responsible for their dogs, rather than banning certain breeds.

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Vets to run marathon for World Animal Protection

News Story 1
 Two recently graduated veterinary surgeons will be running the London Marathon in April to raise money for the charity World Animal Protection.

Alex Bartlett and Maeve O'Neill plan to run the race together if they are given the same start times.

Dr O'Neill said: "You're always limited in what you can do to help animals, so it is nice to raise money for a charity that helps animals around the world."

Dr Bartlett added: "I have never run a marathon before and am excited to run my first one for such a good cause!"

Both Dr Bartlett and Dr O'Neill have fundraising pages online. 

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News Shorts
BSAVA releases new Guide to Procedures

The British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA) has published a new edition of its Guide to Procedures for Small Animal Practice.

It has added four new procedures; cystostomy tube placement, endotracheal intubation, point-of-care ultrasound and wet-to-dry dressings.

BSAVA says that it is an essential step-by-step guide to diagnostic and therapeutic procedures performed in practice. The textbook includes new images and illustrations, as well as high-definition videos for use prior to procedures.

Nick Bexfield and Julia Riggs, editors of the new edition, said: "We have built upon the success of the previous editions by responding to the feedback received from the BSAVA readership, and hope this new guide helps to further increase the confidence and accuracy with which these procedures are performed."

Print copies are available in the BSAVA store, with a digital version in the BSAVA library.