A petition to update the Dangerous Dogs Act to specifically protect horses has been set up following an increasing number of attacks.
The petition was set up by Victoria Privett and had received 7,500 signatures this afternoon (Wednesday 29 January). It requires 100,000 signatures before it will be considered for debate in Parliament. You can sign the petition here
Just last weekend, a pony had to be put to sleep on the road after it was allegedly spooked by a dog off its lead and unseated its teenage rider before bolting on to a busy A road in Lofthouse, West Yorkshire.
The palomino called Loki was tragically hit by a car and suffered four broken legs. The driver was physically uninjured, but the vehicle was written off.
The two young riders had allegedly asked the dog’s owner to put it on a lead, but they claim that the man swore at them and refused.
The petition
The petition calls for dog owners to face penalties proportionate to the incident if their dog causes a nuisance to, terrorises or attacks a horse when in public.
It also requests a ‘leash law’ for dogs when in the presence of horses in order to reduce incidents and injuries for the horses, riders, dogs and wider public.
The petition description states: “We believe current legislation does not give sufficiently clear guidance when it comes to dog attacks on horses, which we think leaves a grey area many equestrians have fallen into with little to no help from the police.
“In our view, out of control dogs and dog attacks are becoming more frequent as the dog population grows, putting many lives at risk.”
The Dangerous Dogs Act
Dog attacks can be prosecuted under a number of laws, but the majority of criminal cases will be brought under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991.
“Under section 3 of the Dangerous Dogs Act it is an offence to own or be in charge of a dog that is dangerously out of control in a public place or a private place where it isn’t allowed. This is the part that is most pertinent to riders,” said Des Payne, safety team leader at the British Horse Society.
The Police National Legal Database states that a court can decide that a dog is dangerously out of control if it attacks another person’s animal, or if the owner of an animal thinks that they could be injured trying to stop a dog attacking their animal.
If horses are attacked in a field, the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act comes into play.
As well as the new petition, the BHS, politicians and other groups have been working to get the law that relates to dog attacks on livestock tightened.
“During the last parliament, the All Party Parliamentary Group for Animal Welfare, of which the BHS is a member, put forward an amendment to the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act which would give police more powers in respect of livestock worrying incidents,” said Des.
“This would widen the law to cover dogs on roads and pathways, as well as in fields, and would include horses being ridden on farmland.”
The BHS is waiting to find out if the amendment will go through parliament under the new Labour government.
Rising number of dog attacks
There have been over 700 reports of dog attacks on horses since the BHS launched its Horse i app in 2020, but Des believes the actual number of incidents is much higher.
In 2024 alone, nearly 200 incidents were recorded, with dozens of riders and horses being injured and at least four horses dying as a result.
In 2023, Your Horse reported that the number of incidents logged involving dogs rose by 111% over two years, from 2020 to 2022.
“The regularity of cases is increasing and in part this is due to riders becoming aware that they can record incidents, but we also believe attacks may be more frequent,” said Des.
Cases tend to happen in rural areas where horses come into contact with dog walkers on bridleways, beaches and open spaces, he added.
UK dog ownership has surged and there are around 13.5 million dogs in the UK, an increase of 4.5m since 2019. This means more first-time dog owners, who may have less experience of how to act around horses and farmed animals.
“Even if your dog has always been OK with horses, that doesn’t mean that every horse will be OK with him. A horse can’t distinguish between a dog who just wants to play and one that’s attacking,” said Des.
Main image © Shutterstock. Additional reporting by Charlotte Cooper
