Owners could face court if dog bites child fetching a ball Officials at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said that it would be down to police and the Crown Prosecution Service to decide whether court action would be in the public interest. Legal experts warned that the new rules may result in "innocent" dog owners being threatened with severe punishments. More than 200,000 people a year are estimated to be bitten by dogs in England, and annual costs to the NHS of treating dog attack injuries are about £3 million. Previously, the law covered only attacks by dogs in public places and private areas where animals are prohibited from being, such as a neighbour's garden. Ministers want to ensure that a home owner is not prosecuted if their dog attacks a burglar in their home. David Heath, the agriculture minister, earlier this month told the House of Commons: "We certainly want to deal with the issue of the postman or the political canvasser who gets bitten by a dog out in the yard or garden, where they have perfectly legitimate business, but we also do not want to penalise the householder whose dog is doing its job of protecting property against an intruder. Getting that balance right is critical. When someone is within a house, it can reasonably be assumed that unless they have been invited in, they must give a strong argument for why they have legitimate business in the house. However, Mr Heath added: "It is different for a garden, or sometimes even a shed. A child going to pick up a football that has been kicked into a garden should not be set upon by a dangerous dog. They may be an intruder, but they are nevertheless not a burglar or anyone with malicious intent. A public-interest test must be satisfied before a prosecution can be brought. I hope that the guidance to the prosecuting authority will make that distinction clear. Trevor Cooper, a dog law specialist for Dogs Trust, said: "The difficulty for dog owners is in how they can anticipate a child coming in to their garden. What can a dog owner do to prevent it? Put the dog in a cage in the garden or build large fences? That would be unacceptable for us. The Government is going to have to work out a way of not criminalising dog owners if they have done nothing wrong. It's quite difficult for a dog to distinguish between a lawful and unlawful visitor. He added: "I would hope that common sense will prevail."