Emma Whitfield lost her son, Jack Lis, to a dog attack in November 2021. He was mauled to death by an XL Bully named Beast in Caerphilly, Wales, during a visit to a friend’s house after school.
Since then, more than 16 people - including a woman in her 70s at the weekend - have died in dog attacks. In a bid to stop it happening again, Emma will today make a heartfelt plea to MPs to introduce the Jack Lis Law so no other mother endures the heartbreak and trauma of losing a child to a dog attack.
Emma, 32, will urge MPs to back the Mirror’s campaign for changes to the Dangerous Dogs Act, telling them: “Everything I’m doing, I’m doing for Jack, to stop another Jack from happening.
“I want to make sure that nobody else is ever put in the position of me and my family. I know I can’t change what has happened, but there are people who have the power to change the future.
“I am speaking here today to try and be a part of that change.”
Emma has joined the Mirror, the Dog Control Coalition and Labour MP Wayne David to fight for the Jack Lis Law, which will change the act and introduce tougher penalties to stop the epidemic of maulings and killings. In a video message to the All Party Parliamentary Dog Advisory Welfare Group, Emma will recall the day her son died, telling them: “Identifying Jack by being shown his shoe was heart-breaking.
“Being told he didn’t make it was unimaginable.”
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Jack suffered fatal injuries after being dragged away by the XL Bully during a visit to a friend’s house after school. The dog’s owners, Brandon Hayden and Amy Salter were later jailed.
Emma will call for better regulation and enforcement of breeders, telling MPs: “The dog which killed Jack, in the eyes of the law, was only dangerous once it had killed him.”
She will tell how her initial reaction after Jack died was that “there needed to be a ban of the breed. Get rid of every single one of them”.
She will say: “This made the most sense for me as they have been responsible for a lot of attacks. This won’t bring my son back, but I realise it’s not as simple as banning certain dogs. There will always be another breed involved.”
The Mirror is calling for the proper enforcement of rules to stop the illegal and irresponsible breeding and selling of dogs, as well as a public information campaign to promote responsible dog ownership.
No.10 has not made any firm commitments to tackling dangerous dogs, but Labour leader Keir Starmer has vowed a review of the Dangerous Dogs Act if he becomes PM.
Mr David, who represents Caerphilly, told the Mirror he hopes today’s meeting will highlight the desperate need for the law to be changed.
He said: “I hope this opens the door to a positive move forward.”
MPs on the All Party Parliamentary Dog Advisory Welfare Group are looking at solutions to the growing wave of attacks. It is hoped the group, chaired by Labour’s Rosie Duffield, with Conservative grandee Sir Roger Gale one of the vice-chairmen, will influence ministers.
Debby Lucken, of the Kids Around Dogs charity, hopes speaking to MPs at today’s meeting will highlight the need for change. She said there was too much focus on a dogs’ breed, and not enough on other factors that influence their behaviour.
She said: “I think it’s very unfair to just put everything on the breed of the dog. It’s very simplistic.
“If it was that easy we wouldn’t be having this conversation as it would have been tackled years ago.
“Sadly, I think (dog attacks) are increasing. We’re hearing about these almost every day. The Government can’t pretend this isn’t happening. I just hope they actually listen to us.”
A review into regulations for licensed dog breeders and pet sellers is set to be published later this year. In March 2022, months after Jack’s death, two-year-old Lawson Bond died in a dog attack in Egdon, Worcs.
A fortnight later, 17-month-old Bella-Rae Birch was killed by her family’s dog in St Helens, Merseyside. This was followed by fatal attacks on Daniel Twigg, three, three-month-old Kyra King, and Alice Stones, four.
Already this year dogs have killed Natasha Johnston, 28, four-year-old Alice Stones, Wayne Stevens, 51, Jonathan Hogg, 37, and a woman in her 70s in Bedworth, Warks on Friday.
Police now seize dogs every day
Scotland Yard is dealing with at least one dangerous dog every day, while seizures of American bullies have rocketed in the last few years.
The Metropolitan Police seized 479 out-of-control animals last year under the Dangerous Dogs Act – up from
333 in 2021.
A total of 44 American bullies have been taken off the streets so far this year, up from zero in 2019, freedom of information figures reveal.
That is almost three times more than the next most common breed, the Staffordshire bull terrier – 16
of the dogs have been seized so far this year.
The larger American bully variation has been responsible for half of all dog-related deaths in the UK since 2021, killing nine people including three children.
There were nearly 22,000 cases of out of control dogs causing injury in England and Wales last year compared with 2018 when there were just over 16,000 cases.
The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) said a rise in recorded dog attacks was down in part to increased focus from police. Deputy chief constable Robert Carden, who leads the NPCC dangerous dogs working group, said: “There is anecdotal evidence from rehoming centres that they are seeing a rise in dogs with behavioural problems.
“There are now police officers in all regions of the country focusing on dangerous dogs and dog attacks, working with officers on the ground to ensure that investigations are launched.”
