Dear Madam,

I am writing in response to your to your recent request for information under the Freedom of information Act, specifically you requested;

“1) How many dogs have been seized by the council under Section One of the Dangerous Dogs Act in each year from 2000 to 2008?

2) How many prosecutions under Section One of the Dangerous Dogs Act did the council proceed with in 2007 and 2008?

3) How many dogs have been seized under Section One of the Dangerous Dogs Act so far this year (2009)? Of those seized, how many have been signed over for destruction by their owners?

4) How many applications have been made to the Magistrates court under section 4b of the Dangerous Dogs Act in the last three years? Of those 4b applications, how many resulted in destruction orders and how many resulted in registration onto the Index of Exempted Dogs?

5) How many dogs are currently held under Section One of the Dangerous Dogs Act by Salford City Council? 6) How many dogs have been handed over by their owners to Salford City Council dog wardens as dogs prohibited under the Dangerous Dogs Act - illegally owned pit bull terrier types?

7) How many dogs held as stray dogs by your council have been identified as "pit bull type" during 2007, 2008 and so far this year 2009? Of those stray dogs identified by council dog wardens as prohibited types-what number were destroyed by Salford City Council in each year stated?

8) How are Salford City Council dog wardens trained to identify prohibited types of dogs as defined by the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991legislation?”

I can advise you that the council has no statutory duty in respect of the Dangerous Dogs (Amendment) Act 1997. Further information about this can be found on the Department for Environment and Rural affairs (Defra) website.

The following link to Dangerous Dogs Law - Guidance for Enforcers, clearly highlights that the responsibility for dangerous dogs falls under the jurisdiction of the police, whilst local authorities now have sole responsibility for stray dogs under section 68 of the Clean Neighbourhood and Environment Act 2005.

Therefore I can advise you that our response in respect of questions 1 to 5 is none.

In respect of questions 6 and 7 relating to our dog warden service, I can also advise that our response is none.

Finally, I can inform you that Salford has contracted out its dog warden service, and responsibility of supplying suitably trained staff to deliver the dog warden service is specified in the contract as a responsibility of the contract provider.

Although I consider we have complied with your request as fully as we are able, if you feel this is not the case or if you wish to make a formal appeal, please write to Mr. D. Robinson, Assistant Director, Regulatory Services, Salford City Council, Environment Directorate, 631, Eccles New Road Salford, M50 1SW.

Guidance on how to make a formal appeal against a decision made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, is also available via our web site at www.salford.gov.uk/council/freedomofinformation

Should you further disagree with the decision following the appeal, you may wish to contact the Office of the Information Commissioner:

Office of the Information Commissioner

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk

Yours Faithfully

Peter Coxon

Principal Support Services Officer