Brimbank council has called for state government help to fund responsible pet ownership programs.
It also wants to simplify the approved standard for restricted dog breeds, which left a Sunshine West canine in captivity for almost three years.
In its submission to a parliamentary inquiry into regulations governing restricted-breed dogs, the council called for funding to teach safety around canines.
The council spends about $500,000 a year on animal management and education programs.
Calling for a clearer standard, chairman of council administrators John Watson said Brimbank had “suffered as much as any council with these [restricted breed] dogs”. “We have great interest in a better model,” he said.
In 2011, amendments were made to the Domestic Animals Act 1994 after four-year-old Ayen Chol was mauled to death at St Albans by an American pit bull terrier.
The council said the number of reports about suspected restricted-breed dogs had climbed since the legislative changes. In 2012, another local dog, Mylo, was picked up by a council officer. It was unregistered and not microchipped. After several Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal hearings and Supreme Court appeals, Mylo was eventually declared to be not a restricted breed, a process which cost the council a “significant” amount in legal fees.
The council claims the current standard of restricted-breed dogs is ambiguous and should be reviewed.
“The continual changes to the standard have contributed to confusion and uncertainty about its operation,” the council found. “Interpretation of the standard has been key issue in appeal matters before the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal concerning restricted-breed dogs.”
The council called for an independent, expert review of the standard before changes were made. There are 15,665 registered dogs in Brimbank, 23 of them of restricted breed – either pit bulls or American pit bulls.
There have been 485 reported dog attacks in Brimbank since 2010, two involving restricted- breed dogs.
