Dangerous Dogs Act 1991

This is an Act to prohibit persons from having in their possession or custody dogs belonging to types bred for fighting; it imposes restrictions in respect of such dogs pending the coming into force of the prohibition; to enable restrictions to be imposed in relation to other types of dog which present a serious danger to the public; and to make further provision for securing that dogs are kept under proper control. By virtue of the Commencement Order, Section 1(3) (prohibition on possession of specific dogs and compensation for destruction) shall come into force on November 30th 1991. Other provisions came into force on August 2th 1991.

Section 1 (Dogs bred for fighting) provides:
(1) This section applies to- (a) any dog of they type known as the pit bull terrier; (b) any dog of the type known as the Japanese Tosa; and (c) any dog of any type designated for the purposes of this section by an order of the Secretary of State, being a type appearing to him to be bred for fighting or to have the characteristics of a type bred for that purpose.
(2) No person shall- (a) breed, or breed from, a dog which this section applies; (b) sell or exchange such a dog or offer, advertise or expose such a dog for sale or exchange; (c) make or offer to make a gift of such a dog or advertise or expose such a dog as a gift; (d) allow such a dog of which he is the owner for the time being in charge to be in a public place without a muzzle and kept on a lead; or (e) abandon such a dog of which he is the owner or, being the owner or for the time being in charge of such a dog, allow it to stray.

Any person who contravenes this section is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale (£2,000) or both.

Section 2 (Other specifically dangerous dogs) provides that, if it appears to the Secretary of State that dogs of any type to which section 1 does not apply present a serious danger to the public, he may by order impose corresponding restrictions to dogs of that type.

Section 3 (Keeping dogs under proper control) states:
(1) If a dog is dangerously out of control in a public place- (a) the owner; and (b) if different, the person for the time being in charge of the dog, is guilty of an offence, if the dog, is guilty of an offence, or, if the dog while so out of control injures any person, an aggrivated offence under this section.

(2) In proceedings for an offence under subsection (1) above against a person who is the owner of a dog but was not at the material time in charge of it, it shall be a defence for the accused to prove that the dog was at the material time in charge of a person whom he reasonably believed to be a fit and proper person to be in charge of it.