The Kennel Club has said it is ludicrous that the government is not supporting the Dog Control Bill, which is now unlikely to succeed in the House of Commons.
The bill is likely to fail because it will not have passed all stages in the House before the Queen's Speech, at which point it will expire to make room for new bills.
Caroline Kisko, Kennel Club communications director, said: "It is ludicrous that the Government would not support the Dog Control Bill when we have been waiting for two years for an announcement on their plans to address the urgent need for revised legislation.
"Defra's own [report] highlighted that 71 per cent of respondents called for breed specific legislation to be repealed."
She added that despite this, the government continues to drag its heels at the expense of the welfare for many dogs and public safety.
A petition demanding that the government bring forward the bill in the Queen's Speech next year that updates dog control legislation has now been launched and the public can sign up to it by visiting http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/22631.
