Dogs Flashcards
Dogs
Explain police powers and procedures when dealing with stray dogs
Dogs Act 1906
Environmental Protection Act 1990
Guidelines recommend liaising with local authorities
Where reasonable cause exists that a dog is a stray (no one in control, no collar, poor condition etc) there is a power of seizure.
Details (description, date of seizure, disposal) need to be registered and seizure certificate issued. Owner (if identified) should be notified.
If the dog is unclaimed, and all expenses incurred remain unpaid after 7 days, the dog may be sold or destroyed.
Alternatively, the member of the public who found the dog (if applicable) may be allowed to take the dog, for a period no less than one month.
After two months the dog automatically becomes the property of the new owner.
Dogs
Explain the offence of dog fouling and the role of the local authority
Dog Fouling (Scotland) Act 2003
It is an offence to fail to remove and dispose of a dog’s excrement without reasonable excuse, or consent of the landowner.
The offence applies to all public places, excluding agricultural land.
The offence can be dealt with by way of FPN, issued by police or local authority officers.
A fixed penalty of £40 is applicable, which rises to £60 if not paid within 28 days.
The offender has 28 days to challenge the ticket.
Exemptions apply to visually or physically impaired people’s dogs being used as a service animal, working dogs driving sheep/cattle etc, dogs being used by police, armed forces, emergency rescue etc.
Dogs
Outline the role of partner agencies in the control of dogs
Control of Dogs (Scotland) Act 2010
The threshold to meet essential elements of Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 is high so a preventative approach may be taken instead (or in tandem with).
Local Authority Dog Wardens may issue Dog Control Notices which require certain corrective actions (muzzles, leads etc). The standard of proof is lower as this is a civil order.
Breach of DCN is an offence, which may then trigger further police involvement.
LADWs may also have information relating to known problem dogs which could help to build a picture of reasonable apprehension, which is essential to prove guilt under S3 of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991.
Dogs
Explain the circumstances under which a Local Authority Dog Warden may issue a Dog Control Notice if a dog is out of control
Where it isn’t possible to establish all of the essential elements of an offence under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, an LADW may decide to issue a DCN as a preventative measure.
Dogs that are subject to a DCN will be entered onto the Scottish Dog Control Database.
DCNs may be issued where it is established that on at least one occasion the dog has been out of control, i.e. it has not been kept under control effectively and consistently, leading to reasonable alarm or apprehensiveness.
Dogs
State the offences contained within the
Dangerous Dogs Act 1991
It is an offence to breed, sell, exchange or gift a Section 1 dog (fighting dogs of a type known as Pitbull Terriers, Japanese Tosa, Fila Braziliero, Dogo Argentino or other dogs bred for that purpose as identified by the Secretary for State.
It is an offence to allow a Section 1 dog to be in a public place without being muzzled and kept on a lead, or abandon it and allow it to stray.
It is an offence to allow any dog to act in a dangerously out of control manner in any place. If any person or assistance dog is injured, the offence is aggravated.
A dog can be deemed to be dangerously out of control if there are grounds for reasonable apprehension that it will injure any person or assistance dog, whether or not it actually does so.
Consideration may include:
* The size and strength of the dog;
* The dog’s propensities;
* The dog’s refusal to obey his owner’s commands on the day;
* The nature and length of the attack upon the complainer.
Corroborative proof is required.
Dogs
Identify the powers granted to courts to deal with dangerous dogs and their owners
S4 Destruction and Disqualification Orders
Where convicted of a S1 or S3 offence, the court may order the destruction of the dog (and will do so for S1 dogs), and may disqualify the offender from keeping any other dogs for any period of time.
Dogs
State police powers when dealing with
dangerous dogs
S5 Seizure, Entry of Premises and Evidence
5.1 - Police or LADWs may seize any dog which appears to be a S1 dog, or which doesn’t comply with exempted conditions, or any dog in PUBLIC PLACE, which appears to be dangerously out of control.
