(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, if a dog attacks or worries livestock on any agricultural land or on a road or path , the owner of the dog, and, if it is in the charge of a person other than its owner, that person also, shall be guilty of an offence under this Act.
(2) For the purposes of this Act worrying livestock means—
(a) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(b) chasing livestock in such a way as may reasonably be expected to cause injury or suffering to the livestock or, in the case of females, abortion, or loss of or diminution in their produce; or
(c) being at large (that is to say not on a lead or otherwise under close control) in a field or enclosure in which there are sheep
(2A) Subsection (2)(c) of this section shall not apply in relation to—
(a) a dog owned by, or in the charge of, the occupier of the field or enclosure or the owner of the sheep or a person authorised by either of those persons; or
(b) a police dog, a guide dog, trained sheep dog, a working gun dog or a pack of hounds.
(3) A person shall not be guilty of an offence under this Act by reason of anything done by a dog on any agricultural land , if at the material time the livestock are trespassing on the land in question and the dog is owned by, or in the charge of, the occupier of that land or a person authorised by him, except in a case where the said person causes the dog to attack the livestock.
(3A) A person is not guilty of an offence under this Act by reason of anything done by a dog on a road or path if at the material time the livestock are on the road or path as a result of straying from where they are kept, unless the person causes the dog to attack the livestock.
(4) The owner of a dog shall not be convicted of an offence under this Act in respect of the attacking or worrying of livestock by the dog if the owner proves that at the time when the dog attacked or worried the livestock it was in the charge of some other person and that—
(a) the owner reasonably believed that other person to be a fit and proper person to be in charge of the dog, or
(b) the owner did not consent to the dog’s being in the charge of that other person.
(5) Where the Minister is satisfied that it is inexpedient that subsection (1) of this section should apply to land in any particular area, being an area appearing to him to consist wholly or mainly of mountain, hill, moor, heath or down land, he may by order direct that that subsection shall not apply to land in that area.
(6) A person who commits an offence under this section is liable on summary conviction to a fine.
(7) Where—
(a) a person is convicted of an offence under this section which was committed on or after this subsection comes into force, and
(b) the dog in respect of which the offence was committed was seized and detained in connection with the offence in accordance with section 2(8) and (9) (dogs posing continuing threat),
the court may order the person to pay whatever sum the court determines to be the reasonable expenses incurred by reason of the dog’s seizure and detention.
(8) A court may make an order under subsection (7) whether or not it deals with the person in any other way for the offence.
(9) A sum required to be paid by an order under subsection (7) is treated for the purposes of enforcement as if it were compensation payable under a compensation order (as defined in section 133 of the Sentencing Code).
1953 c. 28
Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act 1953 (1953 c. 28)
An Act to provide for the punishment of persons whose dogs worry livestock on agricultural land; and for purposes connected with the matter aforesaid.
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(1) Where a person (P) is convicted of an offence under section 1, the court may make an order—
(a) disqualifying P from owning or keeping a dog during such period as the court thinks fit,
(b) requiring P, during such period as the court thinks fit, to prevent any dog of which P has charge from going on to land which P knows, or reasonably ought to know, is agricultural land on which livestock is present or is likely to be present, or
(c) both.
(2) Where P is convicted of an offence under section 1, then for the purposes of any appeal under the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 (c.46) an order under subsection (1) is to be treated as a sentence.
(3) If P fails to comply with an order under subsection (1), P commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.
(4) Subsection (5) applies where an order has been made under subsection (1) and at least one year has elapsed since the order was made.
(5) P may, in such manner as may be prescribed by rules of court, apply to the court which made the order for the order to be discharged in whole or in part, or otherwise varied.
(6) If the application in respect of an order is refused, in whole or in part—
(a) P may appeal to the Sheriff Appeal Court, and
(b) no further application in respect of that order shall otherwise be competent unless at least one year has elapsed from the date of the refusal.
Dog found without owner or person in charge
(1) A constable may seize a dog if—
(a) they have reasonable grounds to believe that the dog has attacked or worried livestock on agricultural land or on a road or path, and
(b) nobody present where the dog is found admits to being the dog’s owner or in charge of it.
(2) A constable may detain a dog seized under subsection (1) until the owner has claimed it and paid all expenses incurred by reason of its seizure and detention.
(3) If the owner of the dog does not claim it and pay those expenses before the end of the period of seven days beginning with the day after the day on which the dog was seized under subsection (1), a constable may dispose of the dog.
(4) If the constable disposes of the dog by giving it or selling it to a person acting in good faith, that person becomes the owner of the dog.
(5) The chief officer of police for each police area must keep, or cause to be kept, a register of all dogs seized under subsection (1) in their area, containing the following information—
(a) a brief description of the dog;
(b) the date of seizure of the dog;
(c) if the dog is disposed of under subsection (3), how.
(6) Each register kept under subsection (5) must be available, at all reasonable times, for inspection by the public free of charge.
(7) For the purposes of this section, “disposing of” a dog includes—
(a) causing it to be disposed of, and
(b) destroying it or causing it to be destroyed,
but does not include disposing of it for the purposes of vivisection.
Dog posing continuing threat
(8) A constable may seize a dog if they have reasonable grounds to believe that—
(a) the dog has attacked or worried livestock on agricultural land or on a road or path, and
(b) unless it is detained, there is a risk that the dog could attack or worry livestock again.
(9) A constable may detain a dog seized under subsection (8)—
(a) until an investigation has been carried out into whether an offence under section 1 has been committed by reason of the dog attacking or worrying livestock, or
(b) if proceedings are brought in respect of such an offence, until those proceedings have been determined or withdrawn.
(1) Subsection (2) applies if, on an application made by a constable, a justice of the peace is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for believing—
(a) that an offence under section 1 has been committed, and
(b) that the dog in respect of which the offence has been committed is on premises specified in the application.
(2) The justice of the peace may issue a warrant authorising a constable to enter and search the premises in order to—
(a) identify the dog,
(b) seize and detain the dog under section 2, or
(c) take a sample or impression from the dog under section 2ZA.
(3) Subsection (4) applies if, on an application made by a constable, a justice of the peace is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for believing—
(a) that an offence under section 1 has been committed, and
(b) that anything that may be evidence of that offence could be on premises specified in the application.
(4) The justice of the peace may issue a warrant authorising a constable to enter and search the premises in order to seize any evidence of that offence that may be found.
(5) A warrant under this section may authorise the constable executing it to use reasonable force if necessary.
Where a dog has been seized by a constable under section 2(2A) or section 2A(4)(c) of this Act, the constable may, without prejudice to any other power and whether or not in the presence of the owner or person in charge of the dog, arrange for the dog to be examined by a veterinary surgeon, and for the veterinary surgeon to take samples from the dog, for the purposes of identifying and securing evidence of the commission of an offence under this Act.
(1) Subsection (2) applies where a constable has reasonable grounds to believe that—
(a) a dog has attacked or worried livestock on agricultural land or on a road or path, and
(b) information derived from a sample or impression taken from the dog might provide evidence of an offence under section 1.
(2) A sample or impression may be taken from the dog; and a constable may seize and detain the dog in order that the sample or impression may be taken.
(3) Subsection (4) applies where a constable has reasonable grounds to believe that—
(a) a dog has attacked or worried livestock on agricultural land or on a road or path, and
(b) information derived from a sample or impression taken from any livestock might provide evidence of an offence under section 1.
(4) A sample or impression may be taken from the livestock.
(5) If taking a sample or impression under this section would amount to veterinary surgery, it must be done by a veterinary surgeon.
(6) A sample or impression taken under this section may be retained—
(a) until an investigation has been carried out into whether an offence under section 1 has been committed by reason of the dog attacking or worrying livestock, or
(b) if proceedings are brought in respect of such an offence, until those proceedings have been determined or withdrawn.
(7) In this section—
“ sample ” means any material that has come from the body of an animal and consists of, or includes, animal cells;
“ veterinary surgeon ” means a person registered in the register of veterinary surgeons, or the supplementary veterinary register, kept under the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966 ;
“ veterinary surgery ” has the same meaning as in that Act .
(1) In this Act—
“ agricultural land ” means land used as arable, meadow or grazing land, or for the purpose of poultry farming, pig farming, market gardens, allotments, nursery grounds or orchards; and
“ livestock ” means cattle, sheep, goats, swine, horses, camelids or poultry, and for the purposes of this definition “ cattle ” means bulls, cows, oxen, heifers or calves, “ horses ” includes asses and mules, and “ poultry ” means domestic fowls, turkeys, geese or ducks.
(2) In this Act the expression “ the Minister ” as respects England and Wales means the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries and as respects Scotland means the Secretary of State.
(3) The power of the Minister to make orders under subsection (5) of section one of this Act shall be exercisable by statutory instrument and shall include power, exercisable in the like manner, to vary or revoke any such order.
(1) This Act may be cited as the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act, 1953.
(2) This Act shall not extend to Northern Ireland.
Cite this legislation
- Official citation
- 1953 c. 28
- Source
- legislation.gov.uk
- Data synced
- Licence
- OGL-3 ↗
Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act 1953 (legislation.gov.uk, OGL-3). Retrieved via LawPlayer, https://lawplayer.com/uk/act/ukpga-1953-28
This text is synced from legislation.gov.uk. In case of any discrepancy, the official version prevails.
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