The law that requires owners of dangerous and potentially dangerous breeds of dog to have their animals trained by a certified professional is not being applied, despite being in force for one year.
The legislation was passed on 3 August 2013 and laid out a set of conditions for owners of dangerous dogs, defined as a dog with a history of violence, and potentially dangerous dogs, including the necessity to hold a certificate that shows the dog has been through a rigorous course run by a certified trainer.
Owners of these animals have to have their dogs trained to be sociable, obedient - they (the dogs, not the owners) also must not pick fights with other dogs or bite people.
This training must be administered by certified training providers, a category that has never been defined or published.
The Ministry of Agriculture and all things canine offered a rather weak comment on the situation, "To date, the certification of trainers to train dangerous and potentially dangerous dogs has not started as the law which regulates these matters has not yet been published."
The same source at the Min. of Ag. added an even more vacuous statement, "it is expected that better training, and consequently the accountability of dog owners, can bring beneficial results." In the meantime an estimated 20,000 dogs in these two categories are illegally owned, under the law as it stands.
Despite the fact the law is impossible to comply with, the state has wasted no time in fining owners for not attending non-existent courses as well as associated offences.
In the year since the law started to baffle legal experts and confuse the dog-owning public, 401 prosecutions are in progress against owners of dangerous and potentially dangerous hounds.
As for the money, "there is a great diversity of fines imposed, given the proportionality of the offense and the specifics of each case of contravention, the minimum can not be less than €500, taking into account the seriousness of the offence as prescribed by law."
The offenses registered under the new law include not having an impossible to obtain dog training license, failure to register the little darlings as dangerous or potentially lethal, a lack of insurance, a breach in the duty of care, a lack of secure housing conditions, the lack of a lead when out and about, and not having had the animal sterilised.
No one yet has been charged with being drunk in charge of a dangerous dog, the law stipulates a level over 1.2 g/l. as criminal, or stoned – both can earn the owner a year in prison, with free accfess to the 'I didn't have a dog training license' section.
