Owners of dangerous dogs have been urged to take advantage of an amnesty being run in Bradford.

The amnesty allows owners who fear their dog may be illegal under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 to hand them in to the dog warden service with no questions asked.

It was first put in place by Bradford Council's dog warden service after the attack on six-year-old Rukhsana Khan shocked the nation in 1991.

Terry Singh, Bradford Council's Dog Warden Manager, said: "The Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 was introduced in response to a number of attacks, including one on a six year old Brad-ford girl Rukhsana Khan.

"After that incident, Bradford Council's Dog Warden Service declared an amnesty for the owners of dangerous dogs. Seventy-five dogs were handed over and destroyed."

He said the amnesty was introduced to stop owners abandoning their dogs on the streets and putting the public at risk.

"In the interests of public safety the amnesty is ongoing," said Mr Singh. Now Merseyside Police Chief Constable Bernard Hogan-Howe has called for a similar amnesty on Dangerous Dogs to be put in place in his force following the tragic death of five-year-old Ellie Lawrenson who died after she was savaged by her uncle's pit bull terrier-type dog on New Year's Day.

Mr Hogan-Howe said an amnesty would allow owners who feared their dogs may be banned under the Dangerous Dogs Act to come forward without the fear of arrest.

He said: "Let's get these dogs off the streets. This horrific attack on a young girl has shocked everyone across the nation. Even a strong adult would have struggled to deal with this animal, let alone a small child."

He said everything that could be done to prevent an attack like that taking place again should be done.

Anyone needing further advice or information on the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 or who wishes to hand over a dangerous dog can contact the Dog Warden Service on Bradford (01274) 434366.

e-mail: jennifer.sugden@bradford.newsquest.co.uk

HOW YOU CAN SIGN OUR PETITION

You can back our Curb the Danger Dogs Campaign by signing our petition, which will be sub-mitted to the Home Secretary, John Reid.

We want to collect as many signatures as possible in the next month to show Mr Reid the strength of feeling in the district about the inadequacies of the Dangerous Dogs Act and to put pres-sure on him to better protect the public against dog attacks by acting on the changes to the law we have outlined on the petition.

You can support our campaign simply by adding your own name on the petition online at our publication's website www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk. Or you can print out the petition and ask family, friends and colleagues to sign as well. The more signatures we receive, the stronger our message.

But whatever you can do will add weight to our campaign and help to make it clear to Mr Reid the strength of public feeling regarding the desperate need to change the current law.

Remember, you need to return copies of the petition to the T&A (the address is at the foot of the form) by Thursday, October 12.

We will then submit all the forms we receive to the Home Office.

  • Click here to sign the petition on-line

  • Or click here to download a copy of the petition to print out

  • Start or join a debate on this issue in our online forum - Click here