Ministers are considering measures to improve dog control, including courses similar to speed-awareness classes for owners whose pets misbehave. Other proposals include licensing dog owners, requiring a knowledge test before acquiring a dog and introducing background checks for owners of higher-risk animals.

The taskforce recommends courses for lower-level offences covering issues such as muzzle fitting, canine body language and relevant law, although it does not support making them compulsory. The report also suggests a dog-control database recording biting incidents, against a backdrop of a 77 per cent rise in hospital admissions linked to dog bites or strikes in England over roughly 14 years; Defra says no new licensing scheme will be introduced at present.