REDLAND City Council will make its case to the local government body in October for stronger dog management laws, after witnessing the "deep trauma" of families after dog attacks in recent years.
Cr Tracey Huges has been working with council to change the 12-year-old Animal Management (Cats and Dogs) Act 2008 to strengthen council's ability to investigate and manage serious dog attacks and regulate dog offences to improve community safety.
"Witnessing the deep trauma to two families last year following very nasty dog attacks has left me with a lasting legacy of empathy, compassion and support to those families," she said.
In June 2018, 11-year-old Joseph Helmrich had to have surgery after he was bitten by a dog on a leash at William Stewart Park, Thornlands.
Council came under fire in September 2019 when two dogs viciously mauled a six-year-old German shepherd at Squirrel Glider Conservation Area. The owners were fined $261 for each dog, for failing to keep them in an enclosure.
"I promised that I would not forget what they have gone through and that I would work with council officers through the process to ensure that all that could be done, would be done," Cr Huges said.
"As a consequence of that work I also witnessed the constraints that our caring and sympathetic officers had to manage as they worked through the outdated and inadequate current Animal Management Act."
Cr Huges worked with council officers to prepare the Regulated Dog Management Review Motion to be presented at the Local Government Association of Queensland's annual conference in October.
Council seeks to strengthen the conditions around keeping a regulated dog, establish offence categories for dog attacks, ensure victims are supported and provide clarity on enclosure guidelines.
"I would presume that higher fines could be one change of many that may be identified as a holistic strengthening of the Act," Cr Huges said.