We Don’t Need Another Ban…

A dad is calling for dogs to be banned from play areas in parks after his son was bitten by a Staffordshire bull terrier in Basildon.

Well, it’s already illegal to let your dog bite children in a public area, so I can’t see how a ban on all dogs in play areas is going to somehow stop this happening in future…

Steven Evans is calling for action after his 13-year-old son, Dean, was attacked by a Staff at Holy Cross Recreation Ground, in Church Road.

Dean, a pupil at De La Salle School in Basildon, was left with a bleeding cut and bitemark to his leg after the dog came up to him while he was with friends within the fenced-off play area The youngster ran home to tell his parents following the incident, on Wednesday afternoon.

So no-one saw the incident or got a description of the dog’s owner?

Maybe that’s the reason for this:

Mr Evans, 33, of Dunning Drive, Basildon, said: “…We called the police, but they just weren’t interested.”

Or maybe not.

And it’s hard to see how, if they won’t take an interest in calls saying ‘My son’s been bitten!’, they will suddenly spring into action when they receive a call saying ‘There’s a dog in the play area and it hasn’t bitten anyone yet!’…

“I’ve heard of loads of dog attacks on people and other dogs happening across Basildon lately.”

Well, if there’s no will to do anything about it from the authorities, why should yet another non-enforced ban be brought in?

Mr Evans believes dogs should be banned from anywhere children play.

He added: “I have dogs myself, and I always muzzle them when I take them out.

“I think they shouldn’t be allowed in play areas of parks – there’s no reason for them to be there.”

So, you’re a responsible dog owner, yet you want another ban put in place that will merely punish responsible dog owners like yourselves while the feral animals at the handle end of the leash just ignore it?

Are you mad, or just a masochist?

Naturally, this attitude is meat and drink to the morons that infest local councils and can see another potential moneyspinner:

Malcolm Buckley, Basildon councillor responsible for the enivironment (sic), said: “We do have powers in reserve to ban dogs from certain places, but unfortunately it’s not as easy as people think to put into action.

“It’s something we could think about in the future though, if enough people asked for it.”

‘If you beg us, we’ll make you pay…’