IF dogs were allowed to go back into Manx pubs and restaurants it would be a retrograde step for the Isle of Man, Tynwald has been told.

Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture Minister John Shimmin has refused to change the policy, despite a question from Rushen MHK Quintin Gill. Mr Shimmin said that only guide dogs will continue to be permitted in pubs and restaurants.

"It is the view of the department that to lessen the standard would be a retrograde step and not in the interest of food safety best practice," he said, pointing out that existing regulations say that "adequate procedures need to be in place to prevent domestic animals from having access to places where food is prepared handled or stored". 

Mr Shimmin - a dog owner himself - said that the regulations concerning the entry into food premises (including public houses) of dogs and other animals are the same as those applying in the UK and Europe and he questioned Mr Gill's suggestion that dogs are permitted in some public houses in the UK, although there are a number of websites showing hundreds of 'dog friendly' pubs across the UK.

He said that whilst the UK regulations do not specifically identify dogs as being excluded from public houses or premises producing food, they do require that at all stages of production, processing and distribution, food is to be protected against any contamination likely to render the food unfit for human consumption.

This includes the condition, with guidance from the Charted Institute of Environmental Health, that "live animals should not be allowed in food rooms due to the large number of diseases they may carry".

He also pointed out that there is a danger of physical contamination of food from hairs or any other substance present on the feet or fur of the animal. Examples of canine-transmitted diseases include leptospirosis, hydatid tapeworm, fungal infections, salmonellosis and toxocariasis.