Noël Sweeney identifies the complexities of identifying dogs
Identification evidence is the weakest form of evidence that exists. As a result of R v Turnbull [1977] QB 224, [1976] 3 All ER 549, a judge has a duty to warn a jury of the dangers of relying on identification. The dangers apply equally to civil and criminal cases. However, it is neither fair nor just to limit the protection of the law to a human. The dangers in identifying animals, be it a poodle or a pit bull, are akin to those of identifying humans rather than inanimate objects. There is no reason why a court should not apply Turnbull to animals and every reason why it should do so. For if a man is wrongly identified it can be corrected on appeal as a miscarriage of justice. If a dog is wrongly identified, no appeal could reverse destiny if his sentence is death.
Primary legislation
Although the primary legislation concerned with dangerous dogs is the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 (DDA 1991), the Dogs Act 1871 (DA 1871) can fill any lacunae left by DDA
