The
law
Ownership of a working dog carries with it
some clearly-defined legal responsibilities under current legislation. Your main responsibilities are to:
·
Make sure a dog is registered
and that the certificate is in a secure place and readily available.
·
Have collars, discs, or tags
for all dogs and make sure they wear them at all times.
·
Notify any change of address,
either permanent or temporary if you move, or if you sell the dog.
·
Ensure discs or labels are not
tampered with.
·
Present all dogs for treatment
for hydatids as required.
·
Keep dogs under control at all
times.
·
Make certain dogs are well
housed.
·
Ensure dogs are well fed.
The dog is also covered under legislation
that states that an animal must be provided with adequate food, water, and
shelter, and given adequate exercise.
Ill-treating your dog or cruelly ill-treating it is an offence under the
law.
Registration
All dogs must be registered annually with a
"territorial authority" such as a borough council, county council,
district council or city council, or a hydatids and dog control authority
acting on behalf of these. All
farm dogs over 3 months of age must be registered.
The fees vary with each territorial
authority and some charge lower fees for working dogs and neutered dogs. You are not allowed to shop round for
the cheapest authority - you register your dog where you live!
Proof of ownership, other than the owner's
certificate is the label or disc that the dog should wear at all times. This shows:
·
The territorial authority where
the dog is registered.
·
Year of registration, also
shown by the colour of the tag.
·
The dog's ownership number.
New collars can be purchased from the
authority. Old ones can be used
provided the current label or tag is firmly attached. If a collar or disc is lost, you can apply to the authority
for a replacement and you'll have to pay for it.
Remember that if a dog is found without a
collar, it will be "deemed as unregistered" until you can prove the
contrary.
Selling
a dog
When selling a dog, if it's under 3 months
of age, there is no obligation to register it before sale. If you sell the dog when over 3 months
of age you must notify the territorial authority in writing within 14 days that
the dog has been sold. There's no
fee charged for change of ownership.
When selling a dog you must:
·
Give the new owner a current
treatment certificate showing that the dog has been treated for
hydatids in the last 42 days.
·
Provide the authority with the
name and address of the new owner and the address where the
dog in normally kept.
Buying
a dog
If you buy a dog under 3 months of age, the
vendor doesn't have to produce a hydatids treatment certificate. As a new owner you must:
·
Register the dog before it's 3
months old
·
If over 3 months old, get the
original owner to provide a certificate to show the dog has been treated for
hydatids in the last 42 days.
·
Notify the territorial
authority in writing within 14 days of purchase the name of the authority the
dog came from.
Moving
with your dog
If you move within the same territorial
authority, then notify the territorial authority of your address change, in
writing, within 14 days .
If you move to a new authority, notify them
in writing within 6 weeks of moving where the dog came from. Then inform the authority you
have just left that you've moved, and give them the new address where the dog
is kept. It would pay to do this
in writing too.
These two situations are important for
stockpersons doing casual work and for those having dogs on trial before
purchase. It's also important for
people traveling outside their district to always carry their dogs' hydatids
treatment certificate. It should show that treatment has been carried out
within the last 42 days.
Control
of dogs
This part of the act is important for farm
dogs. It covers the fact that dogs
must be kept under control at all times.
If a dog is considered to be out of control, then a number of things can
happen. Important examples are:
·
A Dog Control Officer can
impound it.
·
The occupier of the land on
which the dog is found can impound it.
·
If the dog is in a public place
from which dogs are prohibited, anyone can seize the dog, or arrange for it to
be seized and impounded.
·
Anyone can impound a dog (or
dogs) if they consider it to be causing distress, annoyance, and damage to
property other than the owners.
The occupier of land where a dog causes a
nuisance can either return the dog to its owner or hand it over to a Dog
Control Officer or Dog Ranger.
Barking
dogs
If a barking dog has been reported to a Dog
Control Officer or Dog Ranger, and there are reasonable grounds to believe that
its barking constitutes a nuisance, an officer or ranger can:
·
Enter the land or premises
(other than a dwelling house) at any reasonable time to inspect the conditions
under which the dog is kept.
·
Give the owner a written notice
requiring him/her to abate the nuisance or remove the dog. The owner may object within 7 days.
Disqualification
from ownership
A territorial authority may apply to a
court to disqualify a person from owning a dog if convicted of a range of
listed offences in the legislation.
Dogs
attacking people or livestock or rushing at vehicles
Anyone who sees a dog attack stock or
poultry, or who is themselves attacked, can either seize the dog or destroy it
immediately. Note that police dogs
are exempt! Once you have seized
the dog, you must hand it over to its owner or to a Dog Control Officer or
Ranger.
If you cannot catch the dog, you may call a
police officer who can shoot it.
It need not be caught in the act for this to happen, but the office must
have reasonable ground for believing the attacks took place.
The police officer is empowered to destroy
the dog only if he/she is unable to seize it.
Dangerous
dogs at large
It is an offence for owners of a dangerous
dog to have it at large without a suitable muzzle. A "dangerous dog" is one that has attacked people,
stock, poultry or property of any kind.
If you keep it in a vehicle or cage, then this is acceptable.
Destroying
dangerous dogs
A court can order the owner of a dangerous
dog either to keep it under proper restraint or make an order for it to be
destroyed.
Seizure
or destruction of a dog found at large among livestock
If a dog is found running at large among
livestock or poultry, the owner may either seize a dog or destroy it. Owners can also request their
"agent", a constable, a Dog Control Officer or Ranger to do this on
their behalf.
If seized the dog must be returned to its
owner or delivered into the custody of a Dog Control Officer or Ranger.
Dogs
seen worrying livestock
If a dog has been seen worrying livestock
of poultry, the owner may make a complaint to the District Court. The court as a result may make an order
of restraint or an order to destroy the dog.
Liability
of the owner for damage
The owner of a dog is liable for all damage
done by the animal.
Dog
control bylaws
A territorial authority can make bylaws for
a range of purposes. Those of
interest to farm dog owners are:
·
Prescribing minimum standards
for accommodation of dogs.
·
Limiting the number of dogs
kept on land or premises.
·
Requiring dogs to be tied up
during the hours of darkness.
·
Requiring owners to remove
faeces left in public places or other people's land.
·
Requiring a bitch to be
confined but given adequate exercise.
·
Impounding dogs found at large.
Wounding
of dogs
If you wound a dog while trying to shoot
it, you are under no criminal or civil liability for injury to the dog or for
its death. However, it's incumbent
on you to take all reasonable steps to terminate the animal's suffering.
Offences relating to offal and untreated meat
It is an offence to:
·
Own a dog infected with
hydatids or that has been infected twice in the last 12 months. Your only defence will be to show you
took all reasonable steps to prevent the second infection.
·
Feed a dog raw offal or raw
sheep or goat meat.
·
Sell offal or untreated sheep
or goat meat for feeding to dogs.
·
Leave the carcasses of any
sheep, cattle, horse, deer, goat or swine to lie in the open accessible to
dogs.
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