Dogs (Jersey) Law
1961
PART 1
INTRODUCTORY
1 Interpretation
In this Law –
“agricultural land”
means land used as arable, meadow or grazing land, or for the purposes of
poultry farming, pig farming or market gardening, or as allotments, nursery
grounds or orchards;
“livestock” means
cattle, sheep, goats, swine, horses or poultry; and for the purposes of this
definition “cattle” means
bulls, cows, oxen, heifers and calves, “horses”
includes asses, mules and hinnies;
“poultry” means
domestic fowls, turkeys, geese and ducks;
“worrying livestock”
means attacking livestock, or 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.
PART 2
LICENSING
2 Duty
to be paid on taking out of licence to keep dogs
Subject to the provisions of this Part, there shall be charged in
respect of every dog kept in Jersey a duty of such amount as the States shall
by Regulations fix which duty shall be paid annually on a licence to be taken
out by the owner of the dog.[1]
3 Exemptions
from licensing requirement[2]
No licence shall be required under this Part in respect
of –
(a) a
dog under the age of 6 months;
(b) a
dog kept and used solely by a blind person for his or her guidance;
(c) a
dog, kept and used by a deaf person, which has been trained by an organization
which exists to train dogs for that purpose, to assist that person to overcome
disabilities caused by his or her deafness; or
(d) a
dog kept and used for such purposes as the States may specify in Regulations
made under this Article.
4 Issue
of licences, etc.
(1) Licences
under this Part shall be issued by the Connétable of the parish in which
the owner of the dog resides.
(2) A
licence shall remain in force until the 31st January next following the date on
which it takes effect.
(3) The
Connétable of each parish shall keep a register of all licences issued
under this Part of this Law in the parish, specifying the name and address of
the person to whom any such licence is issued and the number of dogs in respect
of which the licence is issued.
(4) The
sums received for licences issued under this Part shall be credited to the
Roads Account of the parish in which they are received.
5 Offences
under Part 2
(1) If
any person keeps a dog for which a licence under this Part is not in force, not
being a dog exempted by virtue of Article 3, or keeps a greater number of
dogs than is authorized to be kept by virtue of a licence in force under this Part,
he or she shall be guilty of an offence:
Provided that a Connétable may accept payment of double the
amount of the duty chargeable instead of instituting proceedings in respect of
the offence.
(2) Any
person in whose custody, charge or possession, or in whose house or premises a
dog is found or seen shall, unless the contrary is proved, be deemed to be the
owner of the dog.
PART 3
CONTROL OF DOGS
6 Wearing
of collars by dogs
(1) Every
dog while on a highway or in any other public place shall wear a collar with
the name and address of the owner inscribed on the collar or on a plate or
badge attached thereto:
Provided that this requirement shall not apply to any pack of
hounds, or to any dog while being used for sporting purposes or for the capture
or destruction of vermin.
(2) In
the case of any contravention of this Article in respect of a dog, the owner of
the dog and any person in charge of it, and any person allowing it to be on the
highway or in the public place, shall each be guilty of an offence, and if the
dog is not in the charge of any person, a police officer may seize it and
detain it until the owner has claimed it and has paid all expenses incurred by
reason of its detention.
7 Seizure
of stray dogs
Where a police officer has reason to believe that any dog found on a
highway or in any other public place is a stray dog, he or she may seize it and
detain it until the owner has claimed it and has paid all expenses incurred by
reason of its detention.
8 Duty
of persons taking possession of stray dogs
(1) Where
any person takes possession of a dog which he or she has reason to believe is a
stray dog, he or she shall forthwith either –
(a) return
the dog to its owner; or
(b) notify
a police officer that he or she has found the dog and give his or her name and
address to the officer, and if he or she does not desire to keep the dog, the
dog shall be treated as if it were a stray dog seized by the officer in
pursuance of Article 7.
(2) If
any person fails to comply with the provisions of this Article, he or she shall
be guilty of an offence.
9 Worrying
of livestock by dogs
(1) Subject
to the provisions of this Article, if a dog worries livestock on any
agricultural land, the owner of the dog and, if it is in the charge of a person
other than the owner, that person also, shall be guilty of an offence.
(2) A person
shall not be guilty of an offence under this Article if at the material time
the livestock are trespassing on the agricultural land in question and the dog
is owned by, or in the charge of, the occupier of that agricultural land or a person
authorized by the occupier, except in a case where the said person caused the
dog to worry the livestock.
(3) The
owner of a dog shall not be guilty of an offence under this Article if he or
she shows to the satisfaction of the court that at the time when the dog
worried the livestock it was in the charge of some other person whom he or she
reasonably believed to be a fit and proper person to be in charge of the dog.
(4) Where
in the case of a dog found on any land –
(a) a
police officer has reasonable cause to believe that the dog has been worrying
livestock on that land, and that land appears to the police officer to be
agricultural land; and
(b) no person
is present who admits to being the owner of the dog or in charge of it,
the police officer may seize the dog and detain it until the owner
has claimed it and has paid all expenses incurred by reason of its seizure and
detention.
10 Procedure on
seizure of dogs
(1) Where
any dog seized under Article 6, 7 or 9 wears a collar having inscribed
thereon or attached thereto the name and address of any person, or the owner of
the dog is known, the Connétable of the parish in which the dog is
seized or any person authorized by the Connétable in that behalf, shall
serve on the person whose name and address is given on the collar, or on the
owner, a notice in writing stating that the dog has been so seized, and will be
liable to be sold or destroyed if not claimed within 7 clear days after the
service of the notice.
(2) A
notice under this Article may be served either –
(a) by
delivering it to the person on whom it is to be served;
(b) by
leaving it at that person’s usual or last known place of abode, or at the
address given on the collar; or
(c) by
forwarding it by post in a registered letter addressed to that person at his or
her usual or last known place of abode, or at the address given on the collar.
(3) Where
any dog so seized has been detained for 7 clear days after the seizure, or, in
the case of such a notice as aforesaid having been served with respect to the
dog, then for 7 clear days after the service of the notice, and the owner has
not claimed the dog and paid all expenses incurred by reason of its detention,
the Connétable, or any person authorized by him or her in that behalf,
may cause the dog to be sold, given away or painlessly destroyed.
(4) No
dog so seized shall be given or sold for the purposes of vivisection.
(5) The
Connétable of each parish shall keep a register of all dogs seized in
that parish which are not transferred to an establishment for the reception of
stray dogs, and such register shall contain a brief description of the dog, the
date of seizure and particulars as to the manner in which the dog is disposed
of.
(6) Every
such register shall be open to inspection at all reasonable times by any member
of the public on payment of a fee of 5p.
(7) No
dog so seized shall be disposed of by transferring it to an establishment for
the reception of stray dogs unless a register is kept for that establishment
containing such particulars as to dogs received in the establishment as are
above mentioned and such register is open to inspection by the public on
payment of a fee not exceeding 5p.
(8) The
police officer or other person having charge of any dog detained shall cause
the dog to be properly fed and maintained.
(9) All
expenses incurred by a Connétable under this Article shall be defrayed
out of the Roads Account of the parish in which they are incurred, and any
money received by a Connétable under this Article shall be credited to
that Account.
11 Orders directing
dogs to be destroyed or kept under proper control
(1) Where
it is shown to the satisfaction of the Magistrate’s Court, on a
representation made by any person, that a dog is dangerous or is not kept under
proper control, the court may make an order relating either –
(a) that
the dog shall be kept under proper control; or
(b) that
the dog shall be destroyed:
Provided that no order shall be made under this paragraph unless the
owner of the dog has been given an opportunity of being heard.
(2) Where
on a representation made under paragraph (1) the Magistrate’s Court
makes an order directing that the dog shall be destroyed, the owner of the dog
may, within the period of 7 days from the date of the order, appeal against the
order to the Royal Court, and, until the expiration of that period, or until
the determination of the appeal, as the case may require, the order shall have
effect as if it were an order directing that the dog shall be kept under proper
control.
(3) Where
on a representation made under paragraph (1) the Magistrate’s Court
refuses to make either of the orders which it is empowered to make or makes an order
directing that the dog shall be kept under proper control, the person making
the representation may, within the period of 7 days from the date of such
refusal or order, appeal to the Royal Court against the decision of the
Magistrate’s Court in the matter.
(4) On
any appeal under paragraph (2), the Royal Court may either dismiss the
appeal or rescind the order made by the Magistrate’s Court and, if
thought fit, substitute therefor an order directing that the dog shall be kept
under proper control, and on any appeal under paragraph (3), the Royal
Court may either dismiss the appeal or make either of the orders which the
Magistrate’s Court might have made.
(5) The
decision of the Royal Court on any appeal under this Article shall be final and
without further appeal.
(6) Any
appeal under this Article may be heard and determined either in term or in
vacation.
(7) Part
1 of the Civil Proceedings (Jersey)
Law 1956,[3] shall extend to the hearing
of proceedings under the foregoing provisions of this Article and the
provisions of the said Part 1 shall have effect accordingly but as if
references therein to the Petty Debts Court were references to the
Magistrate’s Court.
(8) For
the avoidance of doubt, it is declared that Part 5 of the Magistrate’s Court (Miscellaneous
Provisions) (Jersey) Law 1949,[4] shall not apply in relation
to any order made by the Magistrate’s Court under paragraph (1).
(9) If
the owner of a dog fails to comply with the terms of an order made under this Article,
he or she shall be guilty of an offence.
(10) In this Article,
“Royal Court” means the Inferior Number of the Royal Court.
12 Rules of Court
for purposes of Article 11
The powers to make Rules of Court under Article 29 of the Magistrate’s Court (Miscellaneous
Provisions) (Jersey) Law 1949,[5] and under Article 13 of
the Royal Court (Jersey) Law 1948,[6] shall include powers to make
Rules regulating practice and procedure in applications and appeals under Article 11
of this Law.
PART 4
GENERAL
13 Penalties for
offences
(1) A person
guilty of an offence under Article 5 shall be liable to a fine not
exceeding £5 for each dog in respect of which the offence has been
committed.
(2) A person
guilty of an offence under Article 6 or 8 shall be liable to a fine not
exceeding £5.
(3) A person
guilty of an offence under Article 9 shall be liable to a fine not
exceeding £50.
(4) A person
guilty of an offence under Article 11 shall be liable to a fine not
exceeding £2 for each day on which the offence continues.
14 Saving
Nothing in this Law shall be
deemed to affect the power of the Economic Development Committee to make Orders
as to dogs by virtue of Article 22 of the Diseases of Animals (Jersey) Law 1956.[7]
15 Citation
This Law may be cited as the Dogs (Jersey) Law 1961.