RSPCA announces dangerous dogs research
Postal Audits, the UK's largest mail auditing and consultancy company, has donated £20,000 to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) Companion Animals Science Department to fund a position for a Scientific Officer who will be looking into working with aggressive dogs or dogs with other behavioural issues. Scientific Officer Jenna Kiddie has recently taken office and has already started working with dogs in the UK's RSPCA centres.
The original objective of the research will be to help staff and volunteers working directly with animals in rehoming and rescue centres, but the ultimate intention is to expand this to anyone who regularly comes into contact with dogs that might be aggressive or have behavioural issues such as social workers, home care workers, utility workers, district nurses and postal workers.
Postal Audit have a particular interest in the field because they are acutely aware of the consequences that exposure to dangerous dogs can have for postal workers. Welcoming the announcement, Managing Director of Postal Audits Derek Fairhurst said that "The startling fact is that at least eight people have been killed in the last four years, and over 200 more have been seriously injured by dogs. What we also see in our line of work is the staggering number of postal workers who are injured – around 6,000 a year. That is why we have funded this work with the RSPCA to try and tackle the problem head on."
Also welcoming the announcement, Head of the RSPCA's Companion Animal Department James Yeates said "This donation will help us make a real difference to tackling this problem. We know that dogs can show aggression because they feel threatened or have had negative experiences in the past, so we hope that this vital research will help protect both animals and humans in the future."
Defra has published guidance for the vet sector ahead of a proposed UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary agreement.
