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TYSON, an ageing pitbull terrier,
was ordered to be destroyed
yesterday by the High Court
in London, as his owner“s last-ditch
plea to save him failed.
Lord Justice Kennedy and Mr
Justice Crane ruled that there
had been undue delay and that
appropriate appeal procedures
had not been followed in a case
that involved the owner“s failure
to muzzle her pet as required
by the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991.
No grounds had been shown for
interfering with the order that
the dog be destroyed, they said.
Faye Ashman, Tyson“s owner,
from Hammersmith, West London,
reacted angrily.Before being
ushered from court by friends,
she told the judges: "You
have condemned my dog to death
- my innocent dog. You let paedophiles
go free, but not my innocent
dog."
The RSPCA said that Tyson was
the victim of unnecessary euthanasia
and urged the courts to judge
dogs on deed, not breed.
Ms Ashman believes that destruction
was wrongly imposed to punish
her for offences that she -
not the dog - had committed
in 2003. She was fined £75 at
West London Magistrates“ Court
in June 2004 after pleading
guilty to three charges of having
Tyson in a public place without
a muzzle, contrary to the Act,
which allows magistrates to
render a destruction order if
an owner commits an offence.
A 1997 amendment, enacted after
a public outcry, also allows
magistrates to avoid passing
a death sentence if they are
satisfied that a dog would not
constitute a danger to public
safety. Yesterday the High Court
was told that the magistrates
initially did not wish to order
Tyson“s destruction because
he had done nothing wrong.
In an attempt to save Tyson,
who had been neutered and microchipped
to comply with the law, the
magistrates ordered a transfer
of ownership to another person.
But Tyson had been seized by
the police. When the new owner
tried to collect him, the police
refused on the basis that the
magistrates had no power to
transfer ownership under the
Dangerous Dogs Act, which prohibits
making a gift of pitbull-type
dogs.
The case went back before the
magistrates, who said that they
were saddened to order the dog“s
destruction.
Ms Ashman appealed to Blackfriars
Crown Court last October, backed
by the evidence of an animal
behaviour specialist that Tyson
was friendly. But Judge Walker
and two magistrates ruled that,
although the dog may not be
a danger to people, there had
been a breach of the Dangerous
Dogs Act and they were not satisfied
that Tyson would not constitute
a future danger.
Yesterday the High Court judges
rejected Ms Ashman“s application
for judicial review. There had
been too long a delay and, instead
of judicial review, she should
have appealed "by way of
case stated", by which
the Crown Court would have to
give written reasons for its
decision. Lord Justice Kennedy
agreed.
CANINE JUSTICE
a.. The Dangerous Dogs Act 1991
banned certain breeds from Britain
and made owners responsible
for attacks
a.. The Act introduced strict
guidelines for owners and how
they should behave in public
a.. 1997 amendment gave the
courts power to resist automatic
destruction orders and gave
judges extra discretion on sentencing
powers
a.. In 2002 Princess Anne
was fined £500 after her pitbull
terrier attacked two children
a.. Dino, a German shepherd,
was condemned under the Act
in 2001 for biting a woman who
intervened in a fight between
Dino and her pet terrier. The
Criminal Cases Review Commission
granted the dog a reprieve
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