Three dog attacks in two days in Belgrade: is the problem the breed or the owners?
In the space of two days, three serious dog attacks on people were recorded in Belgrade, reopening the question of who is responsible: the owners, the law or its enforcement. Duško Jovanović of the Kennel Club of Serbia points out that attacks happen because people fail to understand dog behaviour, and that dogs have retained instincts typical of the pack. The head
In the space of two days, three serious dog attacks on people were recorded in Belgrade, reopening the question of who is responsible: the owners, the law or its enforcement. Duško Jovanović of the Kennel Club of Serbia points out that attacks happen because people fail to understand dog behaviour, and that dogs have retained instincts typical of the pack. Olivera Pavlović, head of the Belgrade veterinary inspection department, says that regulations exist, but that the system has its limits when it comes to controlling dog owners.
The first attack happened on 2 March in Kumodraž, where a woman was attacked in the yard of her family house by her own two Cane Corso dogs. The dogs were so aggressive that the ambulance crew could not reach the injured woman, so the police had to use firearms and shoot them. The woman survived the attack, but doctors were forced to amputate her arm.
On the same day, in the Rupčine neighbourhood, two dogs mauled a woman, who was taken to hospital with serious injuries.
The third attack took place in New Belgrade, on Bulevar Nikole Tesle, where a Malinois and an American Staffordshire Terrier got into a fight during a walk. The owner and a passer-by tried to separate them, but were bitten on the arms and legs and treated in hospital.
Under the 2010 Rulebook on keeping dogs that may pose a danger to their surroundings, the following are listed as potentially dangerous breeds: the Pit Bull Terrier, Bull Terrier, Staffordshire Terrier and American Staffordshire Terrier, the Miniature Bull Terrier, and their crossbreeds.
However, the regulations stress that a dangerous dog is not only a matter of breed: a dog that has attacked a person or another animal without provocation, taken part in a fight or been trained to attack is also considered dangerous.
The dog retains pack instincts
Duško Jovanović, a member of the Kennel Club of Serbia, believes attacks often happen because people fail to understand dog behaviour.
"Most often it comes down to the owner not understanding the dog's way of life. During domestication and adaptation to life with humans, the dog accepted human leadership, but it retained the instincts typical of the pack," Jovanović explains.
According to him, there is a strict hierarchy within the pack.
"The pack leader is the one who keeps the pack together and guarantees it enough food, growth of the pack and safety. When the leader shows weakness, a change of leadership follows. It most often happens in the most brutal way, with the leader being killed by the next strong member of the pack. In the case of the Kumodraž attack, the dogs most likely judged that the woman was not strong enough to be the leader of the pack," Jovanović says.
He adds that dogs often show warning signs beforehand that owners do not recognise.
"They probably warned her several times through some form of disrespect, refusing a command or growling, perhaps while being fed, but she simply did not recognise it, and at some point they judged that she was the weak member of the pack," Jovanović explains.
The law exists, but dogs are rarely taken away
Olivera Pavlović, head of the veterinary inspection department of the City of Belgrade, points out that regulations exist, but that the system has its limits when it comes to controlling dog owners.
"There is a rulebook, but we have no institution in the country that is registered for socialising and training dog owners, nor for socialising dangerous breeds," Pavlović notes.
When a dog without a lead or muzzle is seen in a public place, citizens should react.
"This should be reported to the communal inspection of the City of Belgrade, that is, the communal inspection of the local authority. They are responsible for the use of muzzles and leads and for dog behaviour in public areas," Pavlović explains. She stresses that fines exist, but that they are not issued by the veterinary inspection. "Those are city fines. The communal inspection can write a fine on the spot, just as for illegal parking," says Pavlović.
Still, she adds that in Serbia it is difficult to take a dog away from its owner.
"The law strongly protects the animal. Under the current regulations, it is very difficult to take a dog away from its owner," Pavlović points out.
A dangerous dog is an individual, not a breed
Experts point out that the breed itself need not be the decisive factor.
"A dangerous dog is any individual that is a danger to its surroundings. If a dog has seriously injured a person or killed another animal, then it is dangerous, regardless of breed," Jovanović explains.
He believes several mistakes were made when the regulations were drawn up.
"The Miniature Bull Terrier is a breed up to 30 centimetres tall and around 15 kilograms, and it cannot inflict serious injuries the way a Rottweiler or a Dogo Argentino can. Those errors in the regulations have never been corrected," Jovanović notes.
According to him, the problem is that a dog is often declared dangerous only after an attack has already happened.
"There are systems for spotting the problem earlier and preventing the consequences, rather than reacting only once something has happened," Jovanović says.
Pavlović believes the laws are not the main problem.
"The laws are not that bad. I think the problem lies with irresponsible owners, whose awareness is not at a level where they can look after a dog and prevent incidents like these, or look after the dog's health," Pavlović concludes.
Source: www.rts.rs
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