A designated Environmental Protection Technician is employed from Monday to Friday to deliver a professional service, promoting responsible dog ownership and enforcing existing legislation by:
The Control of Dogs Order 1992 states that ‘any dog in a public place should wear the name and address of the owner either inscribed on the collar or name plate or disc attached to it'. A telephone number is optional but advisable. Remember, this is your pet's fastest ticket back home should they go missing. Dog ownership is a privilege that must be taken seriously.
Since 6 April 2016, all dog owners have been required to have their dogs microchipped and registered on an authorised commercial databases. Failure to comply could lead to a £500 fine. As part of this, dog owners are required to register the details of any new owner before they sell or give their dog away. Dog owners also need to keep their contact details up-to-date on the microchip database.
The amended Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 came into effect on 13 May 2014. This law applies to every single dog owner in England and Wales, regardless of the dog's size or breed. Under Section 3, it is a criminal offence for the person in charge of the dog to allow it to be ‘dangerously out of control' in a public place. A dog does not have to bite to be deemed dangerous in the eyes of the law. Generally, if a dog bites a person, it will be presumed to have been ‘dangerously out of control'; however, even if the dog does not bite, but gives the person grounds to feel that the dog may injure them, the law still applies.
If you have been attacked by a dog, please contact the Police. Dog-on-dog attacks are a civil matter and you may wish to seek legal advice.
Under the Act it is against the law to own certain types of dog, namely the Pit Bull Terrier, Japanese Tosa, Dogo Argentino and Fila Braziliero, without a court exemption. However, the Act judges dogs according to their ‘type' rather than their specific breed. Therefore the Act also covers those having significant physical characteristics of the aforementioned breeds. It is up to the courts to decide the inclusion or exclusion of any particular dog from coverage by the Act, and every dog is judged individually on a case-by-case basis.
For further information, please contact Environmental Health: