Dangerous dog law proposals have been branded “woefully inadequate” by the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee.

A report from the body released today (February 15^th) claims that current regulations have “comprehensively failed” to tackle the issue of irresponsible ownership.

It called for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to be given a more influential position in informing policy and suggested introducing a new bill, which would bring together the currently “fragmented” legislation on the issue of dog control and welfare.

“Irresponsible dog breeding and the failure to socialise puppies in the first few months of life can lead to persistent problems which are hard to tackle later on,” warned the Committee.

The body added that Defra’s latest consultation on the issue had “failed to reflect” growing public concern and recommended collaboration with the Law Commission ahead of consolidating legislation in this area.

Figures provided by the Communication Workers Union (CWU) claimed 6,000 of its postal worker members had been attacked by dogs in the course of their jobs.

The CWU went on to call the 1991 Dangerous Dogs Act “totally ineffective” and general secretary Billy Hayes welcomed the report’s findings.

“This is a far more comprehensive and satisfying response to the problems of dangerous dogs and the limitations of current laws. We hope that Westminster will act on the excellent recommendations in the report,” he said.

Image used courtesy of amidala76 / Shutterstock.com.

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An avalanche in Scotland has trapped a number of climbers in the Cairngorm Mountain range today (February 14^th).

Northern Constabulary has confirmed emergency services are currently in attendance at the scene and are being assisted by members of the Cairngorm Mountain Rescue Team.

The avalanche is said to have occurred shortly after midday and affected the Chalamain Gap area of the range.

Air vehicles from RAF Lossiemouth, including a number of helicopters, are also assisting rescuers in searching for the three people that are thought to be unaccounted for.

The number of people caught up in the incident was initially thought to be higher, with an RAF Mountain Rescue spokesman indicating that up to eight climbers may have been affected.

This latest incident is the second time within a week that rescuers have been called out following an avalanche on the Cairngorms.

Graham Connell of West Yorkshire was found dead in the Jacob’s Ladder area on Monday and five of his climbing companions from Leeds University were rescued by helicopter.

As well as being a popular area with climbers, the Cairngorm range is home to a bustling skiing and winter sports industry.

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An earthquake struck the east Midlands this morning (Friday, January 18^th), the British Geological Survey (BGS) has reported.

The tremor occurred at approximately 5.20am and was felt across Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire.

But at 2.9-magnitude, it has been described as ‘average’ for the UK. Julian Bukits of the BGS said:

“Earthquakes generally have to be of 4.5 to 5 magnitude to cause damage.”

He went on to compare today’s seismic activity to the 8.9 earthquake that caused the Japanese tsunami in 2011 as “a million times weaker”.

The epicentre of the activity, which occurred about 13km (8 miles) below ground, was near Loughborough, Leicestershire.

Mike Flood, 45, who lives in Loughborough, described how his house “creaked” as the phenomenon “almost like a plane going over or an explosion in the distance” struck. And a Leicester resident told of how a number of DVDs fell off his shelves.

A spokesman for the county’s fire and rescue services confirmed that no damage or injuries had been reported and they had not been called out to any incidents following the tremor.

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