Rob Curtis, Street Enforcement Manager and the chap in charge of the dog warden service came to Area Assembly to give us advance warning of a consultation (dreaded word) relating to dog ownership in the Borough.
The subject turned to the topic of
Dog Fighting and Rob mentioned the Status Dog Unit, with which he works. I hadn't heard of it, so googled it and came up with a number of articles on it.
This one in the Independent is a pretty good intro.
Surprisingly, in response to my question on what they planned to do about dog fighting, Rob said there was "no evidence" that organised dog fighting went on in the Borough. I pointed to the evidence of training in the parks, The RSPCA’s Harmsworth Animal Hospital, in Sonderburg Road, Finsbury Park reporting a rise in the numbers of dogs being brought in with injuries sustained from fighting and so on. He did say that if people had evidence of dog fighting they should report it to him.
I was also concerned that they seemed to be concentrating on the 'hoodie with a dog' owner and not seeming to acknowledge the organised gang element of the issue.
Anyway, will keep you posted when the information about the Dog consultation goes out should people wish to make comments upon it.