Minutes of the Wildlife Committee Meetings

Summary

The request sought minutes and decisions from the Isle of Man Wildlife Committee regarding American XL Bully dogs from August 2022 onwards. The authority disclosed a specific consultation report and committee recommendation to ban the breed under the Wild Animals Act, though some information was redacted.

Key Facts

• The Wildlife Committee recommended adding American XL Bullies to the Wild Animals Act Schedule as a short-term measure.
• Committee members expressed concern that the Wild Animals Act is not ideal legislation for domestic dogs and called for more appropriate long-term laws.
• Enforcement challenges were noted due to the lack of a dog licensing requirement to identify existing owners.
• Public consultation included comments from Animals in Distress IoM regarding rehoming difficulties and the need for licensing rather than a total ban.
• The committee agreed that while the ban is a necessary stop-gap, the root issue lies with irresponsible ownership across all breeds.

Data Disclosed

• 10th August 2022
• 17 November 2023
• 8/11/23
• 6 comments
• Wild Animals (Restriction on Importation etc.) Act 1980
• Section 1A
• Section 2

Exemptions Cited

• Part exempt (specific redactions present in the document)

Original Request

Please supply complete minutes of the Department of Environment, Food & Agriculture's Wildlife Committee (as statutory body) meetings dated 10th August 2022 to date, and any written recommendations and decisions that were made and carried through internally or externally as a result of these meetings.

Data Tables (1)

Full Response Text

EXTRACT FROM

From: Selman, Richard To: Milne, Ken (DEFA); McLauchlan, Victoria (DEFA); Lees, Andrew; ; Beckett, Amy; Cc: Thomas, Aline Subject: Wildlife Committee - XL Bully conclusion Date: 17 November 2023 13:34:00 Attachments: image001.png image002.png image003.png Wildlife Committee,   Thank you for your responses on this matter. I propose the following minute for the next Wildlife Committee Meeting, and this note will also form the report, to DEFA Regulation, on the consultation.   Wild Animals (Restriction on Importation etc.) Act 1980: the importation and keeping of American XL bullies (consultation by email due to urgency; see paper 31Oct2023 from the Chief Veterinary Officer)   We received 6 comments on the paper, and during the consultation, there was a Manx Radio report online (8/11/23) with comments from Anita Williams of Animals in Distress IoM, stating that she had brought two of these dogs to rehome on the IoM ‘on the request of the Police’ but she won’t be bringing any more in. She doesn’t want them banned but she does want them licensed so only good owners can keep them, noting that UK sanctuaries are full of them and that keeping them was a fad and no one wants them anymore.   One committee member dealt with a WAA dog case many years ago and commented that the WAA is not very appropriate legislation for domestic dog types, but he understands that it may be needed in the short term, as more appropriate primary legislation will take considerable time to be developed. He felt that the WAA should only be a temporary stop-gap and consideration should be given to an alternative. The issues in the WAA relate to the possibility that dogs fitting a type may appear in a litter within the IoM (other litter mates may not fit the type) so enforcement may come in for individual dogs appearing in an unpredictable manner, resulting in an offence of possession, which the owner may or may not be aware of (a type of dog not necessarily being a breed). Also, WAA Section 1A relates to escape from captivity, as it is designed to deal with wild animals kept in cages rather than domestic animals.   He also pointed out that the WAA can be most effective where there are no such animals within the IoM, but enforcement may be difficult, due to not knowing which dogs are already here and therefore not covered by the legislation, with no dog licensing requirement to provide a record. There is no provision requiring current owners to register their dog.   He noted that in addition to fines, in the case of import/removal to the IoM, the Act allows for forfeiture of the dog to DEFA or Customs (depending on the origins of the movement) and the dog ‘may be disposed of as the Department may direct’. Past cases have resulted in deportation/return or destruction. However, such forfeiture under section 2 relates to importation, not possession, so the Department would need to rely on general powers held by the Police in relation to evidence gathering, to take dogs appearing within the IoM, if such enforcement is intended, and he is not clear what would result, beyond a fine, with respect to the permanent removal of the dog. Possession is an offence, so it presumably could not be Redacted Redacted Redacted handed back. This shows how the legislation is not written for such a situation.   Another member found an article from Liverpool University that suggests that most breeds are capable of ‘turning savage’ and killing if treated inappropriately and the more powerful the dog, the greater harm it can inflict. She felt that if we ban certain breeds from the Island which are identified as being more likely, from records, to attack a human then people are likely to accept that, but are less likely to accept a ban on current resident breeds that have no record of causing harm. She further noted that many of the dogs found sheep worrying are not breeds known to be dangerous, simply dogs which are not properly controlled. She would support a ban on any dog species deemed to be inherently harmful and feels that most members of the public would support this, but states the problem is that there are people who do not train their dogs or will treat them in a way which makes them less sociable (keep in isolation, let children taunt them, etc.) and it is difficult to do anything about this. She supports the banning of dangerous dog types such as the American Bully XL but feels that the real problem lies with irresponsible dog owners of any breed.   One member considers this action to be appropriate in the circumstances and 3 more agreed with the recommendation as a short-term solution, if not ideal, but in the long term feel that more appropriate legislation should be looked at.   All of the comments were supportive of the recommendation by the Chief Veterinary Officer, to add American XL bullies to the Wild Animals Act Schedule, as a danger to the public, as a short term measure, but the Committee feels that more appropriate legislation should be developed for the domestic dog types.   Kind regards, Richard Dr RG Selman, (he/him), Ecosystem Policy Manager Department of Environment, Food & Agriculture,  Thie Slieau Whallian,  Foxdale Road,  St John's,  Isle of Man,  IM4 3AS Tel (direct) +44 (0)1624 695740 Tel. DEFA +44 (0)1624 685835  Fax +44 (0)1624 685851  Email Richard.Selman@gov.im  Website: www.gov.im/defa           A special place for people and nature. Boayl er-lheh son sleih as najoor.   DEFA - working for a clean, safe, healthy, attractive and vibrant environment which will be enjoyed by present and future generations alike.   Our Island, Our Environment, Our Future.   WARNING  If you are not the intended addressee of this e-mail, you must not copy or deliver it to anyone else or use it in any unauthorised manner.

Freedom of Information Co-ordinator Corporate Services Directorate Thie Slieau Whallian, Foxdale Road, St John’s, Isle of Man, IM4 3AS Tel no (01624) 685854 Fax no (01624 685851 Email: defa@gov.im www.gov.im

Our ref: 3848457 3 June 2024

Dear ###

We write further to your request, received 9 May 2024, which states:

"Please supply complete minutes of the Department of Environment, Food & Agriculture's Wildlife Committee (as statutory body) meetings dated 10th August 2022 to date, and any written recommendations and decisions that were made and carried through internally or externally as a result of these meetings."

Our response to your request is as follows: I have enclosed copies of the information that is being released to you.

To offer advice and assistance, the Minutes of the meeting of the Wildlife Committee held at 1pm on Monday 10th August 2022 at DEFA, Thie Slieau Whallian are currently in draft format only. The minutes will remain draft until the next Wildlife Committee is held, at which stage they will be formally accepted as final. Wildlife Committee meetings are arranged as and when required and at present there are no further meetings scheduled to take place. Section 25(b)(i)&(ii) – Absolutely exempt personal information
While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested because it is absolutely exempt under section 25 of the Act (absolutely exempt personal information). The reasons why that exemption applies are that: • The Department of Environment Food and Agriculture is satisfied that the information amounts to personal data of which you are not the data subject; and • The Department of Environment Food and Agriculture is satisfied that disclosure of the information would contravene one of the data protection principles as set out at Article 5 of the General Data Protection Regulation as it applies in the Isle of Man pursuant to the Data Protection (Application of GDPR) Order 2018, namely that the Department of Environment Food and Agriculture
can only disclose the information where it would be fair, lawful and meet one of the conditions for lawful processing in Article 6 and in this case, none of those conditions have been met.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the information is exempt from disclosure under section 41 of the Act as it is held with a view to being published at a future date [by way of advice and assistance give details of when and how the information is going to be published] and in all the circumstances it is reasonable that the information be withheld from disclosure until that time.

Section 41 – Information for future publication As section 41 is a qualified exemption, it is subject to a public interest test. The public interest must be something that is of serious concern and benefit to the public at large.

Factors in favour of disclosure • Open and transparent
• There is an expectation that the public have the right of access to information held by the Department

Factors in favour of withholding • The information held by the Department will be published on the ASSI webpage once an area has been designated • The Department would not identify areas being considered for ASSI prior to their approval and designation
• The ASSI has not yet been finalised or approved for designation
Engagement with land owner and/or tenants ongoing
• Sites could be threatened by early announcement, when there is no protection

In taking these factors into account the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture determined that the factors in favour of maintaining the exemption outweigh the factors in favour of disclosing the information.

Please quote the reference number 3848457 in any future communications.

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Yours sincerely