Mr Devine was speaking after a Ballymena man was convicted of keeping a dangerous dog. Geoffrey Sculion from Orkney Drive was fined £2903, and disqualified for keeping dogs for five years. A court order was made directing that the dog be destroyed.

The pit-bull was captured after police called the dog warden to the house in Orkney Drive last October. The dog identified as the notorious pit-bull breed was taken to a secure location, awaiting the outcome of the court case, held in Ballymena Magistrates Court last Tuesday.

Despite giving evidence in the successful prosecution, Nigel Devine has called for changes to the Dangerous Dogs legislation to allow pit-bulls to be kept under strict licence.

He said he had visited Snuffles on several occasions, and had always found it to be 'friendly' and even 'comical'.

"As the law stands, Snuffles will be put down because he is classified as a dangerous dog. But I have been in contact with this dog frequently, and he is very friendly towards humans. Personally I do not see him as any danger to humans.

"He is a real family pet, just like any other dog, but he will now have to be put to sleep. It will be a very sad day when Snuffles is put down for me and the people who have been looking after him since he was seized."

Mr Devine who has been instrumental in tackling the issue of dangerous dogs, said the Ballymena Council has written to the Environment Minister Michelle Gildernew calling for changes to the legislation.

The Times has received a copy of that letter which reveals that Mr Devine has never investigated a case of a pit-bull attacking a human:

"The officer within Ballymena Borough Council who has the responsibility for enforcing this legislation is Nigel Devine, the Borough Warden, and his efforts to enforce this legislation are well known throughout the province. He led the council into its Pit Bull amnesty and was very successful in dealing with most of the local problems in this Borough with pit bulls and pit bull crosses.

"He, like all other Enforcement Officers, has experienced considerable difficulty in establishing what is deemed to be a dangerous dog, specifically a Pit Bull type, and what is not. At present identification of these dogs is difficult as there are few experts available who can state, especially in the case of crossbreeds, exactly what the dog is.

"When the legislation is so specific, the outcome of court cases is very much dependant upon one experts opinion against another, a factor which is difficult for both the enforcement officers and the Courts. On the other hand, if the legislation required witnesses to speak about the dogs temperament and behaviour there would be no problem in deciding what a dangerous dog was and convincing the Courts accordingly.

"It should also be borne in mind that the breed types specified in the Dangerous Dogs Order are big powerful dogs which under the correct circumstances can severely harm or kill humans and the question has to be asked if there are there any circumstances under which these dogs can be considered as domestic pets?

"What we feel should be in place are other control measures to deal with these dogs as outlined below.
"It is recommended that dogs be divided into categories for the purpose of this legislation and each category be dealt with differently as per the attached schedule. This would allow individuals to keep previously dangerous dogs under certain circumstances, and include other dogs in the legislation.

"During our Borough Wardens years of controlling dogs and investigating numerous dog attacks in our Borough area, he has never to date investigated a pit bull attacking anyone.

"To remove a dog for destruction after it has settled into a home as a pet is a traumatic experience for everyone concerned especially if the dog has shown no aggressive tendencies.

"This Councils view is that no dog should be judged on how it looks, but rather on its behaviour."