JD Wetherspoon PLC provided investors with a detailed regulatory statement on its policy regarding customers' dogs and why it asks for paperwork at the bar, triggered by a news article that questioned whether the pub chain could be breaking the law.
Defending its policy, the FTSE 250 group said the piece gave a misleading impression of both its policy and the reasons behind it.
Wetherspoons said it allows assistance dogs but asks customers to provide proof of training from Assistance Dogs UK (ADUK), an umbrella body whose member organisations certify trained assistance animals.
Wetherspoon said it has taken advice from senior counsel and understands it must make reasonable adjustments for people with disabilities under the Equality Act 2010, with those duties balanced against legal responsibilities for the safety of employees and the public, pointing to a range of legislation covering those duties.
The release then leans hard into the data, with its policy said to have been shaped by a sharp rise in dog incidents, with the BBC's own figures showing 31,920 dog attacks on people in England and Wales in 2024, with one police force reporting a 163% increase in dog incidents since 2019 and another a 70% rise, while research has found that hospital admissions for dog bites have more than doubled over the past twenty years.
The pub group said 15 of its own staff were bitten by dogs in 2025, despite its policy to only allow assistance dogs.
Chairman Tim Martin said: “This is a complex area for pubs and other organisations. The interests of those with disabilities need to be protected while, at the same time, employees and the public have to be protected from a substantial increase in dog incidents.”
He added: “The BBC article, unfortunately, did not explain Wetherspoon's broader legal responsibility for the safety of its customers and staff, which we set out in detail for them, and which is the reason for our policy.”
Martin also criticised guidance quoted from ADUK, which told the BBC that identification or documentation was not a legal requirement.
He said asking staff to judge a dog’s behaviour after it has entered the pub is asking for trouble.
“It is inevitable, as a matter of common sense, that ADUK's advice, if followed, will lead to an increase in dog incidents in pubs.”
Wetherspoon said its approach offers greater protection for staff and customers and is consistent with other checks commonly required in pubs, such as proof of age or blue badges for parking.