Which dog breeds are 'dangerous'?

WITH regard to a letter in Connexion about Staffordshire Bull Terriers - as the owner of a loving pet, I read on the website that you printed and found that this was 1999 legislation. New legislation was drafted in 2007. I am having great difficulty in trying to find out what dogs are now in Category 1 and Category 2.
It appears from the information I have been given that Staffordshire Bull terriers are included.
SB

YOU are right that new legislation about dangerous dogs was drafted last year - however an interior ministry spokesman confirmed this legislation - which is going through parliament at the moment - provides for more stringent rules on the keeping of "dangerous" dogs but does not change the categories of dogs concerned, which is included under the 1999 law you refer to.

Category 1 dogs - called chiens d'attaque, are described in official government guidance as non-pedigree dogs of the Staffordshire Terrier or American Staffordshire Terrier kind ("both types are often known as Pit-bulls"), and of the Mastiff or Tosa kind.

Category 2 dogs are pedigree Staffordshire Terrier and American Staffordshire Terrier dogs, Rottweilers and Tosas.

Government guidance notes state: "Category 2 does not include Staffordshire Bull Terriers, a smaller breed not considered dangerous."

A grey area remains where you have a dog of a broadly Staffordshire Bull Terrier kind but without a pedigree.

Staffordshire breeder Valerie Brucker said such dogs, especially larger animals, are often considered to come under Category 1.

Ask a breeder for advice, if necessary.