Your Dog and the Law.
- Dog Identity Tag. It is the requirement of the Dogs Act 1906, that all dogs whist on the highway or public places wear a collar with their owners name and address inscribed or attached to it.
- Barking Dogs. Legal action may be taken against the owner of a noisy dog under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, Section 80.
- Dog Fouling. Indiscriminate dog fouling is unpleasant, unhygienic, a health risk and antisocial. There is a byelaw in Leicester which states: "No person being in charge of a dog shall allow it to foul the footway of any street or public place by depositing excrement thereon" New 'poop-scoop' byelaws will shortly be introduced to cover dog fouling on parks and open places. Train your dog to foul at home if he/she accidentally fouls in a public place, clear it up.
- Accidents. If your dog causes an accident or injures someone, the owner of the dog may be liable to pay compensation, eg~ a dog straying out into the road and causing an accident.
- Insurance. It is strongly recommended that you obtain third party insurance for your dog(s).
- Dangerous Dogs. Under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1990, it is an offence to allow any dog to be dangerously out of control in a public place. A dog is regarded as "dangerously out of control" under the act if there are good grounds for suspecting that it will injure a person, whether or not it actually does so. If no injury is caused, the maximum sentence is a dine of £2,000 and/or 6 months imprisonment. Where actual injury is caused, the maximum sentence is 2 years' imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine. The Courts can also now specify particular forms of restriction, such as muzzling or leashing, for all types of dog, as well as the power to disqualify owners from having custody of a dog for any period of time felt appropriate.
- For further information about your dog and the law- contact your local authority Dog Warden.
