The increasing problem of seri-ous dog attacks across Au s-tralia warrants the creation of

specialised Do g - Attack Squads in allStates, according to AVA Pre s i d e n t ,Dr Ga rth Mc Gi l v r a y.

He issued a national media re l e a s eon the topic last month, following aserious attack on a 55-ye a r - o l dwoman and a 30-year-old-man whowent to her aid after she was set-uponby two Pit Bull Terriers in Syd n e y.Both we re admitted to hospital fort reatment to their multiple wounds.He said the need for such expert teamswas obvious. “This is a serious com-munity issue and it needs to be tre a t-ed as such by all States. They have spe-cialist squads to quickly and thoro u g hi n vestigate matters such as arson andit makes sense to have a similar systemto properly investigate dog attacks.Too often in the past police have been

assigned to check on a dog attackmany days, or even weeks, after thee vent meaning that most witnessesand evidence are unreliable. Pro p e ri n vestigation by an expert body couldalso determine whether the victims ofthe attack had actually contributed tothe situation, even if only inadve rt e n t-l y. “If a designated team could beinstantly assigned to check all aspectsof dog attack cases, the facts could bebetter-established and, hopefully, irre-sponsible owners could be identifiedand successfully prosecuted,” DrMc Gilvray said. He stressed there wasno scientific evidence to suggest anyp a rticular breed of dog was “t h ew o r s t” in terms of attacking childre nor adults. The major factor behindattacks was that the animals con-cerned had not been properly super-vised or socialised by their ow n e r s .“All dogs are capable of causing pro b-

lems if they do not re c e i ve proper han-dling throughout their lifetime. Pu p-pies need to be socialised and gradual-ly introduced into the world of peo-ple. Some dogs of any breed cand e velop ve ry aggre s s i ve tendencies andthe AVA advocates that any adult dogsshould be professionally assessed fora g g re s s i ve traits. Dog owners - espe-cially of larger breeds - should exe rc i s ecaution and commonsense if leavingthem alone with children. An inno-cent action of a child might trigger am o m e n t a ry response from the dog,which could lead to serious injury - orworse. The central element to thise n t i re problem is responsible pet ow n-e r s h i p. If all owners acted sensibly andresponsibly there would be no pro b-lem. Owners whose animals causeattacks should face speedy inve s t i g a-tion and seve re penalties,” DrMc Gilvray said.

Aust Vet J Vol 77, No 9, September 1999562

News

The NSW Da i ry Corporation hasbecome the first food industry groupto be absorbed in the State’s new food

safety agency, Safe Food. This is the first steptowards Safe Food taking control of food safe-ty in a range of industries, including meat andseafoods. Safe Food was formally establishedas a concept when the NSW Pa r l i a m e n tpassed the Food Production (Safety) Act lastNovember, with initial funding of $7 millionover three years. The NSW Minister for Agri-culture, Mr Richard Amery, has announcedthe appointment of the former General Man-ager of the Dairy Corporation, Mr GeorgeDavey, as the CEO of Safe Food. Mr Davey holds an MSc degree in Food Sci-ence and Technology and has had extensiveexperience in the microbiology aspects of thepoultry, shellfish and dairy industries. Safe Food will extend its reach into some retailpremises, including butchers shops and super-markets, but NSW Health and local govern-ment will retain their existing coverage ofmost retail food outlets and the food servicesector.

Safe Food absorbs theNSW Dairy Corporation

AVA Call for Dog-Attack Squads in all States

AVA seeks to gain 75% membershipcoverage of the vet profession

Your help is needed to support the AVA’s drive to raise the membershipbase from 60% to 75% of the profession by 2001. As part of the strate-

g y, the 1999 AGM re s o l ved that new ord i n a ry members for 2000 should bepermitted a National Membership subscription of $110 (instead of $310). Itis hoped that the $200 discount for 2000 will encourage new members tosample the benefits of belonging to the Association. (Since the AGM, Fe d-eral Parliament has enacted legislation to introduce a Goods and Se rvices Ta xwhich must now be added to Membership subscriptions for the period fro m1 July to 31 December 2000). Are any of your colleagues non-members ofthe AVA? This is your opportunity to help your Association and your col-leagues by pointing out to them the benefits of membership and the intro-d u c t o ry discount on offer for 2000. This once-only offer of joining with the$200 discount means that a full ye a r’s membership will cost only $115.25(including GST), plus the appropriate AVA Division subscription (approx .$110 to $135). Enquiries to Pam Young, Membership Ma n a g e r, AVA Ltd,PO Box 371 Artarmon NSW 1570, Tel) 02 9411 2733, Fax) 02 9411 5089or Email: membership@ava . c o m . a u

STOP PRESS: New ND outbreakA new outbreak of Ne wcastle disease has struck a Sydney region poultry

f a rm, only days after authorities declared the massive $20m outbreak atMa n g rove Mountain (80km north of Sydney) had been "eradicated". T h enew outbreak is at a small independent farm at Schofields (on Sy d n e y ' ss o u t h - west fringe). NSW Agr i c u l t u re immediately destroyed the 8000b i rds on the pro p e rty and imposed control measures, including testingn e a r by pro p e rties. News of the latest outbreak broke in late-August, just asthis issue of the AVJ was being sent for printing. M o re details next month.