Complaint
In an item about a recent increase in dog attacks, the programme backdrop included a picture of a Staffordshire Bull Terrier. A viewer complained this was misleading and unfair when the accompanying statistics did not relate to that breed alone. The ECU considered the complaint in the light of the BBC’s standards of accuracy.
Outcome
The ECU noted that those who compile statistics on dog attacks generally stress that there are underlying reasons why certain breeds may predominate. It is well recognised that some breeds are prone to be used by their owners as status dogs, and that it is the dog’s training and treatment, rather than their innate temperament, that is responsible for their aggression. That said, Staffordshire Bull Terriers featured prominently in at least one list of fatal dog attacks in the UK seen by the ECU. The use of a picture of a dog of that breed as the backdrop to a report on dog attacks could not therefore be considered materially misleading such that it amounted to a breach of the BBC’s Guidelines on Accuracy.
Not Upheld