A rider who has survived a dog attack, and many near misses, and hears daily of similar incidents is calling on the Government to do better to protect horses and people.
The petition was signed by thousands, but was terminated early as a result of the general election last July. It has since been reopened, and has so far been signed by more than 16,500 people.
“We need as many people as possible to sign it to get the Government to listen,” Victoria told H&H.
“The first part that we’re asking for – “Dog owners to face penalties proportionate to the incident if their dog causes a nuisance to, terrorises or attacks a horse when in public” – is actually in the Dangerous Dogs Act but the CPS and police can’t seem to agree what that looks like. And the act doesn’t say that dogs should be leashed in the presence of horses. That means that if you see a horse, you must put the dog on the lead. It could be 10 seconds that makes the difference.”
The Government responds to all petitions signed by at least 10,000 people, and has yet to do so in this case. If it reaches 100,000 signatures, it will be considered for debate in parliament.
“That would be fantastic but I doubt it will in six months,” Victoria said. “But the more people who sign, the better, as then MPs will be made aware.”
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And it is not just the petition; Victoria is working on a template letter to MPs, which will be published on her social media for people to copy, and has met the British Horse Society (BHS).
“They’re taking an interest and supporting it; we’re going to work together on certain things,” she said.
“I’ve continued my series on social media and a lot of dog trainers and walkers have shared my videos, to show what can go wrong, and also the examples of people who do it right. It’s about raising awareness of the dangers, to people’s dogs as well as horses and riders.
It is estimated that there are 13.5m dogs in the UK, a number that has soared since the Covid pandemic.
“A lot were bought by first-time owners and not socialised properly because of lockdown, and we’re now seeing a problem because of that,” Victoria said. “The BHS has stats on dog incidents but the real number is far more. I get incidents sent to me every day – 16 last week – and I don’t think any were reported to the BHS.”
As is the case with road safety incidents, if dog attacks are reported to the BHS, this allows them to communicate to the Government the scale of the issue, and helps lobbying for change. BHs stats for 2024 show that 280 dog incidents were reported, which caused five horse fatalities and 43 human and 38 equine injuries.
“Without the stats, they can’t show the Government that this is a massive problem,” Victoria said. “They have to be reported.”
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Eleanor is an experienced journalist who spent over eight years working for local and national newspapers before joining H&H as news editor in March 2016. Passionate about equine welfare and exposing the truth, Eleanor has reported on all aspects of the industry, from Brexit to anti-bullying campaigns, and from dressage rules to mules. Her sport of choice is showjumping, in which she competes her own horses, and she also enjoys reporting at local jumping shows through to international championships.
