Police faced criticism in Holyrood for the way they handled a dog attack at a festival which left a 5-year-old girl disfigured.
MSPs were told by a council officer on Thursday of the “baffling” decision not to pursue criminal proceedings against the Fife-based owner.
Jim Ferguson, of Argyll and Bute Council, said the case was a police failure and reveals the inconsistent approach to dog control in Scotland.
He told a Scottish Parliament committee: “We had (an incident) last summer at an ale festival near Inverary and a chap took his dog onto the stage – an ale festival with dogs, loud music and people dancing – and the dog disfigured a 5-year-old girl.
“The police never took any action, which was odd and the irate parent came to the council to see what we were going to do and we hadn’t been informed.”
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The owner was later traced to an address in Fife but Mr Ferguson said he has not been pursued.
“It was quite clearly a failing on the part of the police and highlights inconsistencies that you do get,” said Mr Ferguson.
The dog was close to loud music and “got a fright” as the girl tried to pat the animal in June last year.
The bite to the face left the victim “permanently disfigured”, Mr Ferguson said.
The incident is believed to have happened at last year’s Fyne Festival in Cairndow.
Chief Superintendent Alan Murray told the committee he could not comment on the individual case, but said if a bite “came out of the blue” and without “reasonable apprehension” from the owner that the attack would happen, then it is “not necessarily a competent charge”.
A Police Scotland spokesman said: “Police Scotland can confirm that a 5-year-old girl attended Dunoon General Hospital after she was bitten by a dog at a festival in Cairndow, Argyll and Bute around 7.20pm on Saturday, June 2, 2018.
“If anyone has any concerns they should contact Police Scotland via 101 or call into Dunoon Police Office and speak with the area commander, Chief Inspector Douglas Wilson.”
The Scottish Parliament’s post-legislative committee is reviewing how well the public is protected under existing dog control laws, which includes the Control of Dogs (Scotland) Act 2010.
Earlier, representatives from Fife and four other councils said they are in favour of a dog licensing scheme, which would force residents to register as owners and could make them prove their fitness to keep a dog.
Kay Watson, a dog control officer in the kingdom, said despite the service being “whittled down by budget cuts”, the council still has two dedicated full-time dog control officers who can “fully investigate” any complaint that comes in.
“We have been subject to cuts, but at the same time we have the resources to enforce legislation that’s available to us,” she said.
