12 September 2023 , 13:38
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The Labour MP hoping to become the Government’s top law officer wants dangerous dogs rounded up and killed.
Shadow Attorney General Emily Thornberry hit out after the latest horror attack by a pet. Ana Paun, 11, was mauled by the American Bully XL and Staffordshire bull terrier crossbreed puppy in Birmingham on the weekend. The attack was filmed by an eyewitness and posted on social media, sparking fresh calls for a crackdown.
Ms Thornberry, who would be the most senior law officer in government if Labour wins the election and she is appointed, fumed: "I think that there are dogs that are just certainly beyond the pale, and I think that dogs that are bred in America to be absolutely enormous - whose first reaction is to attack people - I think should be rounded up and people should not be allowed to have them."
Ana Paun with her arm bandaged after being attacked by the American XL Bully crossbreed dog (Anita Maric / SWNS)Speaking to LBC Radio, she added: "I think they should be put down, I think they are dangerous. I don't think we should have one more child, one more person attacked by these dogs.” Home Secretary Suella Braverman has commissioned "urgent advice" on outlawing the American Bully XL breed after she highlighted the "appalling" attack on Ana.
Downing Street has refused to back the 32-year-old Dangerous Dogs Act after a spate of deadly attacks, and amid mounting demands for an overhaul of the 1991 legislation which cracked down on some breeds. Blasting delays to a legal shake-up, Ms Thornberry added: “I think that it should have happened a long time ago and I can't see any sort of reason why we need to have any sort of consultation on it now. I think it's perfectly clear that they are dangerous and we shouldn't have them."
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The Government should "just get on with" taking dangerous dogs off the streets, she added.
Relieving the horror which unfolded last weekend, victim Ana said: "The dog was staring at me and I got scared, so I started to run, and then I never ran that far - I ran like five seconds - so the dog grabbed my hand and he started moving me about. Someone grabbed him off my hand, and after he let go of my arm he went on my shoulder and he bit my shoulder as well.
"I was feeling really panicked and I was scared, terrified, I had a lot of emotions. The owner should be more responsible of the dog, because the owner was not doing anything." Ana's mother said her daughter was taken to hospital in an ambulance and needed around eight stitches.
Speaking at the family home, Monica Paun, 34, said: "She was with her big sister at the shop and the dog attacked. She came shouting, 'Mum!' I am still in shock." Ana spent a night in hospital after the attack and has been given antibiotics, her mother added.
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