Jersey Law 37/1961
“DOGS (JERSEY) LAW, 1961”,
CONFIRMÉ PAR
Ordre de Sa
Majesté en Conseil
en date du 25
septembre 1961.
____________
(Enregistré
le 7 octobre 1961).
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ARRANGEMENT OF
ARTICLES.
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Article
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PART I.
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INTRODUCTORY.
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1.
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Interpretation
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PART II.
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LICENSING.
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2.
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Duty to be paid on taking out of
licence to keep dogs
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3.
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Exemptions from duty
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4.
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Issue of licences, etc
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5.
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Offences under Part II
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PART III.
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CONTROL OF DOGS.
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6.
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Wearing of collars by dogs
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7.
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Seizure of stray dogs
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8.
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Duty of persons taking possession
of stray dogs
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9.
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Worrying of livestock by dogs
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10.
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Procedure on seizure of dogs
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11.
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Orders
directing dogs to be destroyed or kept under proper control
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12.
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Rules of court for purposes of
Article 11
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PART IV.
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GENERAL.
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13.
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Penalties for offences
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14.
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Repeals and savings
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15.
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Short title
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DOGS (JERSEY) LAW, 1961.
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A LAW to
consolidate the Law relating to dogs, sanctioned by Order of Her Majesty in
Council of the
25th day of SEPTEMBER, 1961.
____________
(Registered on the 7th day of
October, 1961).
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STATES OF JERSEY.
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The 6th day of April,
1961.
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THE STATES, subject to the sanction of
Her Most Excellent Majesty in Council, have adopted the following Law : -
PART I
INTRODUCTORY
ARTICLE 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 and “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 II
LICENSING
ARTICLE 2
DUTY TO BE PAID ON TAKING OUT OF LICENCE TO KEEP DOGS
Subject to the provisions of this Part of this Law, there shall be
charged in respect of every dog kept in the Island a duty of five shillings
which shall be paid annually on a licence to be taken out by the owner of the
dog.
ARTICLE 3
EXEMPTIONS FROM DUTY
No duty shall be chargeable under this Part of this Law in respect
of –
(a) a
dog under the age of six months; or
(b) a
dog kept and used solely by a blind person for his guidance.
ARTICLE 4
ISSUE OF LICENCES, ETC
(1) Licences
under this Part of this Law shall be issued by the Constable of the parish in
which the owner of the dog resides.
(2) A
licence shall remain in force until the thirty-first day of January next
following the date on which it takes effect.
(3) The
Constable of each parish shall keep a register of all licences issued under
this Part of this Law in his 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 of this Law shall be credited
to the Roads Account of the parish in which they are received.
ARTICLE 5
OFFENCES UNDER PART II
(1) If
any person keeps a dog for which a licence under this Part of this Law is not
in force, not being a dog exempted by virtue of Article 3 of this Law, or keeps
a greater number of dogs than is authorized to be kept by virtue of a licence
in force under this Part of this Law, he shall be guilty of an offence:
Provided that a Constable 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 II
CONTROL OF DOGS
ARTICLE 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.
ARTICLE 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 may seize it and
detain it until the owner has claimed it and has paid all expenses incurred by
reason of its detention.
ARTICLE 8
DUTY OF PERSONS TAKING POSSESSION OF STRAY DOGS
(1) Where
any person takes possession of a dog which he has reason to believe is a stray
dog, he shall forthwith either –
(a) return
the dog to its owner; or
(b) notify
a police officer that he has found the dog and give his name and address to the
officer, and if he 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 of this
Law.
(2) If
any person fails to comply with the provisions of this Article, he shall be
guilty of an offence.
ARTICLE 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 him, 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 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 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 him 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 it and detain it until the owner has
claimed it and has paid all expenses incurred by reason of its seizure and
detention.
ARTICLE 10
PROCEDURE ON SEIZURE OF DOGS
(1) Where
any dog seized under Article 6, 7 or 9 of this Law 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 Constable of the parish in which the dog is
seized or any person authorized by him 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 seven 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; or
(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
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 seven 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 seven 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 Constable, or any person authorized by him 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
Constable 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 one shilling.
(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 one shilling.
(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 Constable 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 Constable under this Article shall be credited to that Account.
ARTICLE 11
ORDERS DIRECTING DOGS TO BE DESTROYED OR KEPT UNDER PROPER CONTROL
(1) Where
it is shown to the satisfaction of the Police 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) of this Article the Police Court
makes an order directing that the dog shall be destroyed, the owner of the dog
may, within the period of seven 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) of this Article the Police 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 seven days from the date of
such refusal or order, appeal to the Royal Court against the decision of the
Police Court in the matter.
(4) On
any appeal under paragraph (2) of this Article, the Royal Court may either
dismiss the appeal or rescind the order made by the Police 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) of this Article,
the Royal Court may either dismiss the appeal or make either of the orders
which the Police 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
I of the Civil Proceedings (Jersey) Law, 1956, (which
relates to costs in civil proceedings), shall extend to the hearing of
proceedings under the foregoing provisions of this Article and the provisions
of the said Part I shall have effect accordingly but as if references therein
to the Petty Debts Court were references to the Police Court.
(8) For
the avoidance of doubt, it is hereby declared that Part IV of the Police Court
(Miscellaneous Provisions) (Jersey) Law, 1949, as
amended (which relates to appeals against convictions by
the Police Court and sentences passed on such convictions), shall not apply in
relation to any order made by the Police Court under paragraph (1) of this
Article.
(9) If
the owner of a dog fails to comply with the terms of an order made under this
Article, he shall be guilty of an offence.
(10) In
this Article, “the Royal Court” means the Inferior Number of the
Royal Court.
ARTICLE 12
RULES OF COURT FOR PURPOSES OF ARTICLE 11
The powers to make rules of court under Article 22 of the Police
Court (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Jersey) Law, 1949, and under
Article 11 of the Royal Court (Jersey) Law, 1948, shall
include powers to make rules regulating practice and procedure in applications
and appeals under Article 11 of this Law.
PART IV
GENERAL
ARTICLE 13
PENALTIES FOR OFFENCES
(1) A
person guilty of an offence under Article 5 of this Law shall be liable to a
fine not exceeding five pounds for each dog in respect of which the offence has
been committed.
(2) A
person guilty of an offence under Article 6 or 8 of this Law shall be liable to
a fine not exceeding five pounds.
(3) A
person guilty of an offence under Article 9 of this Law shall be liable to a
fine not exceeding fifty pounds.
(4) A
person guilty of an offence under Article 11 of this Law shall be liable to a
fine not exceeding two pounds for each day on which the offence continues.
ARTICLE 14
REPEALS AND SAVINGS
(1) The
following enactments are hereby repealed –
(a) the
“Règlement sur les Chiens”, confirmed by Order of Her
Majesty in Council of the twenty-ninth day of February, 1868;
(b) the
“Loi amendant le Règlement sur les Chiens (1868)”, confirmed
by Order of His Majesty in Council of the fifth day of March, 1931; and
(c) the
Dogs (Protection of Livestock) (Jersey) Regulations, 1960.
(2) Any
permit issued under the enactments repealed by sub-paragraphs (a) and (b) of
paragraph (1) of this Article and subsisting at the date on which this Law
comes into force shall have effect as if it were a licence issued under Part II
of this Law and shall remain in force until the thirty-first day of January
next following that date.
(3) Nothing
in this Law shall be deemed to affect the power of the Committee of Agriculture
to make orders as to dogs by virtue of Article 21 of the Diseases of Animals
(Jersey) Law, 1956, and the reference, in
sub-paragraph (c) of the said Article 21, to Article 3 of the
“Règlement sur les Chiens, confirmé par Ordre de Sa
Majesté en Conseil en date du 29 Février 1868” shall be construed as a reference to Article 7 of
this Law.
ARTICLE 15
SHORT TITLE
This Law may be cited as the Dogs (Jersey) Law, 1961.
F. DE L. BOIS,
Greffier of the States.