Calls to ban certain dog breeds, including American Staffies, have resurfaced after a brutal attack in a Brisbane park left a man fighting for his life.
Ajay Malik, 37, was jogging through 7th Brigade Park in Chermside on Friday night when two dogs attacked him, causing life-threatening injuries to his face and arms.
The Brisbane real estate agent remains at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, where he is receiving treatment.
The animals were identified as an American Staffordshire bull terrier cross and a bulldog-boxer cross.
Dog behaviour expert Andy Lea described dogs of this type as “totally unsafe” pets, arguing that owners often make the mistake of treating powerful animals as if they were human.
“If you treat a dog as a human, your dog will treat you as a dog, and the mindset of teaching sit won’t change a dog’s DNA,” he told 4BC.
The dogs, Louis and Ruby, escaped from a tent at a bushland campsite near the park, where their owner, Layla Evans, had been staying. Evans said she left the animals in the tent while she went out to dinner with a friend.
Renewed calls have been made to ban powerful dog breeds, including American Staffies, after a man was left fighting for his life following an attack in a Brisbane park
Dog behaviour expert Andy Lea described the dogs as “totally unsafe” pets and warned against owners treating powerful animals like humans
Ajay Malik, 37, suffered life-threatening injuries to his face and arms when two dogs attacked him as he jogged through a Brisbane park
Mr Lea said territorial behaviour was natural for many dogs, but warned that powerful breeds could create a serious public safety risk.
“If you’ve got a guard dog breed or aggressive breed, they’re a danger to anyone because it’s like giving a 10-year-old a shotgun and say, ‘Shoot any intruder’, and you come home and they’ve shot the meter reader,” he said.
“Dogs don’t understand the empathy of attacking people and killing them, and if you’ve got breeds that can kill people, they’re an extreme danger to the public.”
Mr Lea described American Staffies as “just another version of a pit bull”.
“They’re bred to kill other dogs and to guard as fast as possible, and they’re very good at it,” he said.
“It’s a ridiculous pet.”
His comments came after Sydney veterinarian Dr Sam Kovac called for American Staffordshire bull terriers to be banned following a 2021 attack in Sydney that left two women “mauled to the bone”.
Neighbours were forced to stab the animal, which was described as being the size of a miniature pony and weighing up to 100kg, before beating it with an iron bar after it launched a frenzied attack on its female owner at Pheasants Nest in Macarthur, south of Sydney.
Dr Kovac said he did not want existing dogs to be euthanised, but urged authorities to immediately stop their sale, breeding, importation and rehoming.
Louis and Ruby escaped from a tent at a nearby bushland campsite while their owner was out having dinner
Their owner, Layla Evans, said the dogs were protective of her but insisted they had not previously been aggressive
Dr Sam Kovac has called for American Staffordshire bull terriers to be banned in Australia
‘Most of the time they won’t be killers.
‘But when you’re dealing with such a powerful breed that’s been bred to fight and kill, when they really want to do this, nobody can do anything to fend them off.
‘They should not be allowed to be bred in this country.’
In Brisbane, police said officers responding to the attack on Mr Malik were confronted with an ‘immediate and serious safety risk’.
After initial attempts to subdue the dogs failed, officers ‘were required to discharge their service firearms in response to the risk posed to members of the community and others at the scene’, Queensland Police told Daily Mail.
One dog was captured on Friday night and the other on Saturday morning. Both remain alive and in Brisbane City Council’s custody at an animal shelter.
The council said the dogs were registered to the same address and had not previously been declared dangerous.
It confirmed it would issue destruction orders for both animals. Ms Evans has 14 days to appeal the decision.
Ms Evans was filmed being arrested on Saturday over an unrelated matter.
Meanwhile, police said they were unable to determine whether the dogs were involved in the death of a man whose body was found nearby.
Officers found the 48-year-old man’s body in bushland off Kittyhawk Drive at Chermside just before midday on Sunday.