The legislation around dangerous dogs has been motivated largely by Parliament’s reaction to headlines in the press, where dogs have either maimed or fatally wounded people, including their owner.
What is a Dangerous Dog ?
The Dangerous Dogs Act sets out prohibitions around the breeding, gifting, selling or exchanging of certain breeds, including pit bull terriers and Japanese Tosas.
Additionally, there are circumstances where the legislation suggests that dogs of a specific type, which are not defined by breed, are also caught by the legislation. A dangerous type does not reflect a dog’s temperament, which may be playful and friendly, but rather assesses the various physical characteristics a dog may possess.
The best way to illustrate how the law works is to explore two case studies which are based on real world examples.
Case Study 1
A person (A), has agreed to take their friend’s labrador for a walk in the park on a lead. Whilst in the park it meets another dog, also on a lead, with its owner. Initially the greeting is friendly but then both dogs become aggressive. While trying to intervene the owner of the other dog is injured by the labrador.
A week or so passes and then the owner (B) of the labrador receives a visit from the police, who have indicated that they wish to enter the premises and potentially seize the dog.
Is an offence committed? If so by whom and what are the implications?
The short answer is yes. Even though the labrador was being walked by another person, if there was an injury to a person or even another dog, then the owner (B) and the person walking the labrador (A) could be criminally liable.
This may seem unfair to both A, who is not the owner of the labrador and was doing a favour and B who was not there at the time. However, the reality is that a human being will generally always be responsible for a dog’s behaviour. It should also be noted that there does not need to be any evidence of actual injury, but instead, the prosecution merely needs to show that the complainant felt fear or apprehension. Any injury caused, however, aggravates the nature of the offence elevating any potential punishment.
Police visits
When attending the property, the police need to be on the premises lawfully. There are many instances other than having a police warrant, which allow the police to be on the premises. If the requirements have not been met, then they may need to leave and obtain a specific warrant to seize a dog.
Additionally, if they have both entered the premises and seized a dog unlawfully, there may be grounds to raise a complaint.
Case Study 2
The police have attended a person’s home for a separate matter and have seized a dog on the premises, as they believe it may be a type that the law prohibits. The dog is assessed by a police dog expert against a list of criteria, such as the physical characteristics commonly used to describe Pit Bull type dogs. For example, the eyes are small, deep-set and triangular when viewed from the side and elliptical from front.
However, the assessor’s conclusions can be subjective, so if a dog has been assessed as dangerous, it may be worth considering instructing an expert to give an opinion as to whether the dog is a Pit Bull type.
If found guilty, what next?
If found guilty, (or someone has pleaded guilty) to the more serious offence as outlined in Case Study 1, the court may make a destruction order, which means the dog would be destroyed. Depending on the facts of the case, this can be avoided. However, the person may be subject to a community order or in the most serious of cases, imprisonment.
In most cases involving Case Study 2, the courts often give a contingent destruction order if there are no issues with the temperament of the dog. This means that if certain conditions are fulfilled, for example the dog is kept on a lead when out for a walk and wears a muzzle, then the dog can be returned to its owner.
This area of law is complex on many fronts and whilst dogs in themselves may be prone to certain types of behaviour, it is their human owners who will be requested to attend a police station or court.
If you need specialist advice about any of the issues raised in this article please contact the criminal team at B P Collins by emailing [email protected] or call 01753 889995.
