Dog ownership laws must put public safety at front and centre

This week's fatal attack, which saw a Canberra woman killed by a dog she and her neighbours reportedly knew had attacked humans in the past, is the most tragic in a long list of cases that date back for decades.

City services minister Meegan Fitzharris has confirmed rangers had been called to the Watson home a little over a month ago when the same animal attacked a visitor. She was unable to say if that had resulted in it being officially declared dangerous.

Only 14 of the animals implicated in the 389 dog attacks reported to ACT Government authorities in 2016-2017 were declared legally dangerous.

Of the 124 dogs seized in the wake of 360 attacks during 2016 only 12 were declared dangerous.

The majority of those were then returned to their owners on the condition they were subject to more stringent controls.

This is a nonsensical outcome given most people would rightly consider any dog that had either attacked a person or another dog or animal was a threat.

While each incident needs to be considered based on actual circumstances, in all of these cases it would appear the rights of the owners to possess an animal that had already proved it posed a safety risk took precedence over the right of the public to a safe and non threatening environment.

That has got to stop. The old presumption that "under the law every dog is entitled to one bite" has never applied in this jurisdiction and ignores the fact dog owners are responsible for their pets' actions.

Canberra's sub-par performance in getting aggressive dogs off the streets can, in part, be explained by the fact this is literally dog city.

There an estimated 120,000 dogs in the ACT. ACT Government officials believe at least half of these would probably be unregistered.

This startling guesstimate highlights the endemic failure by a large proportion of dog owners to take even the most basic responsibility for their animals.

Owning a dog in an urban environment is a privilege, not a fundamental human right, and involves acceptance of a wide range of obligations to the animal and the community.

The old aphorism that "there aren't bad dogs, just bad dog owners" has a lot of truth in it.

While the debate over what, if any, additional legislation is needed in the wake of this week's tragedy will likely drag on for weeks, the ACT Government is to be commended for committing to doubling the number of rangers.

This suggests existing laws will be more stringently enforced. It even raises the possibility complaints from the public won't take as long to be dealt with.

When owners know they will lose their dogs if the animals attack others they will - hopefully - start to behave more responsibly.