'Two-legged dogs' the real problem in attacks, says Mayor

11.45am

"Two-legged dogs" - people who train animals to attack - are the problem behind vicious dog attacks, says Auckland mayor John Banks.

Mr Banks said he felt terribly sorry for the seven-year-old girl who had half her face ripped off in a dog attack in an Auckland park last Friday.

However, he said he was not convinced banning vicious dogs was the answer to the highly complex issue, even after a huge amount of work had been done on the problem, including by a select committee.

"The two-legged dogs who own these animals should be the focus," he said.

However, owners of fighting dogs were unlikely to heed calls by police, politicians and surgeons who repaired the damage from dog attacks to properly train the animals, he said.

Mr Banks, who introduced existing dog legislation when he was minister of local government, said a blanket ban on vicious dogs was not the answer.

"We have got to get sanctions in place... which will deter people from doing what they do to these dogs to make the dogs do what they do to people."

He said if there been a sound and sensible solution he would have supported it when he introduced the Dog Control Act.

He accused judges of being too lenient on the dogs' owners.

"I don't think the courts take seriously enough the fact that owners of animals have a huge responsibility."

- NZPA