DOGS

DOGS

Owner’s Responsibilities

We all love our pets but along with ownership comes a responsibility to make sure they do not cause injury to others.

The law is clear on this and is covered by the Control of Dogs Act, 1986. This provides strict liability on owners for injury or damage caused by their dogs.

Strict liability means that the owner of a dog shall be liable for damage caused in an attack on any person by the dog and for injury done by it to any livestock.

Dog owners in areas in close proximity to farmlands should be particularly vigilant about minding their dogs at night to prevent them from roaming onto farmlands and

disturbing livestock or worse killing sheep.

Section 9 of the Dogs Act states:

(2) If a dog worries livestock, the owner, or any other person in charge of the dog shall be guilty of an offence unless it is established that at the material time the dog worried the livestock for the purpose of removing trespassing livestock and that having regard to all the circumstances the action was reasonable and necessary.

(3) A person who is guilty of an offence under subsection (2) of this section shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £500, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one month, or, at the discretion of the court, to both such fine and such imprisonment.

In making such a claim against a dog owner, it is not necessary to show that the dog had a previous mischievous propensity, that is, the owner had knowledge of such

previous behaviour of their dog. The offence committed is all that is required under the law. As the liability of the owner is ‘strict’ it is not an excuse to claim it was

an accident or the owner did not realize the dog was capable of being aggressive.

Dogs must always wear a collar that bears the name and the address of the owner inscribed on it or on a plate, badge, or disc. Failure to have identification on a dog can result in an on-the-spot fine issued by a dog warden.

Certain breeds of dog, including strains and cross breeds, must be muzzled whenever they are in a public place and must be kept on a short strong lead (under two metres) by a person over 16 years who is capable of controlling them. Such breeds include American Pit Bull Terrier, Bull Mastiff, Doberman Pinscher, English Bull Terrier, German Shepherd (Alsatian), Japanese Akita, Japanese Tosa, Rhodesian Ridgeback, Rottweiler, Staffordshire Bull Terrier and Bandog. This also applies to strains or crossbreeds of these breeds.