Control of Dogs Act , 1986

1. Interpretation.

1.—In this Act—

“damage” includes death or injury to any person (including any disease caused to a person or any impairment of his physical or mental condition) and includes injury to, or total or partial destruction of, property;

“dispose of” means to sell or to give away;

“dog” includes a bitch of any age or a dog of any age;

“dog licence” means a licence entitling a person to keep a dog;

“dog warden” means a person employed under section 15 of this Act to be a dog warden for the purposes of this Act;

F1[“general dog licence”means a licence entitling a person to keep an unspecified number of dogs at a premises specified in the licence, one premises only being so specified;]

“greyhound” includes any whippet and any strain or cross of greyhound or whippet;

“licence” includes, as the context may require, a dog licence and a general dog licence;

“livestock” means cattle, sheep, swine, horses and all other equine animals, poultry, goats and deer not in the wild state;

F2[“local authority”means a local authority for the purposes of theLocal Government Act 2001(as amended by the Local Government Reform Act 2014); and references to the functional area of a local authority shall be construed accordingly and local authority shall, as the context may require, include any other person with whom a local authority has entered into an arrangement pursuant to section 15 of this Act;]

“the Minister” means the Minister for the Environment;

“occupier” includes a person who owns and occupies, as well as a person who occupies only, any premises and in relation to any land includes a person who is in possession of land under a letting in conacre or for the purposes of agistment or for temporary depasturage;

“owner” in relation to a dog includes the occupier of any premises where the dog is kept or permitted to live or remain at any particular time unless such occupier proves to the contrary: Provided always that where there is more than one dwelling in any house, the occupier of the dwelling in which the dog is kept, or is permitted to live or remain, shall, until the contrary is proved, be presumed to be the owner;

“person in charge of livestock” includes the occupier of any land on which the livestock are kept, or the owner of the livestock, or any member of the family of such occupier or owner, or any person authorised to take charge of the livestock by any of them;

“poultry” means domestic fowls, turkeys, geese, ducks, guinea-fowls, pigeons and peafowl and includes, whilst in captivity, pheasants, partridges, grouse and quail;

“premises” includes any house or land;

“prescribed” means prescribed by regulations made by the Minister;

“public place” means any street, road, seashore, park, land, field or other place to which the public have access, whether by right or by permission, and whether subject to or free of charge;

“sterilise” means to render permanently incapable of breeding;

“stray dog” has the meaning assigned to it by section 11 of this Act;

“Superintendent of the Garda Síochána” means the Superintendent of the Garda Síochána for the area in which a dog is, is found, or is shot;

“veterinary surgeon” means any person who is lawfully qualified to practise veterinary surgery in the State;

“worry” in relation to livestock, means to attack or kill or to chase livestock in such a way as may reasonably be expected to cause the death of or injury or suffering to the livestock or to result in financial loss to the owner of the livestock.

2. Prohibition on keeping a dog without a licence.

2.—(1)Subject to section 5 of this Act, it shall be unlawful for any person to—

(a)keep a dog unless he holds either—

(i)a dog licence for that dog, or

F3[(ii)a general dog licence relating to the premises where the dog is kept, or,]

F4[(b)take possession, unless he is the holder of a general dog licence relating to the premises where the dog is intended to be kept, of a dog, pursuant to a change of ownership, before the issue of a dog licence in respect of that dog, or,]

(c)transfer possession of a dog pursuant to a change of ownership to any other person unless the other person is the holder of a dog licence for that dog or a general dog licence F5[relating to the premises where the dog is intended to be kept].

(2)The occupier of any premises where a dog is found shall, for the purposes of this section, be deemed to be the person who keeps the dog unless he proves that—

(a)he is not the owner of the dog, and

(b)the dog was kept on the premises either—

(i)without his knowledge, or

(ii)by some other person who had a licence for the dog.

3. Issue of licences.

3.—(1)A dog licence shall be issued to a person by the local authority for the functional area in which the dog is kept at, or is intended to be kept after, the issue of the licence.

(2)A general dog licence shall be issued to a person by the local authority and shall relate to all dogs kept by F6[such person at the premises specified in the licence] within the functional area of the local authority.

(3)A local authority may, with the consent of the Minister, enter into arrangements with any other person for the issue of licences on its behalf.

(4)A licence which, before the commencement of this Act, was issued pursuant to section 37 of the Finance Act, 1925, shall be deemed for all purposes to be a licence issued under this Act.

4. Persons disqualified from holding a licence.

4.—A local authority shall not issue a dog licence or a general dog licence to any person who—

(a)is under the age of sixteen years, or

(b)is disqualified, pursuant to section 18 of this Act, from keeping a dog.

5. Exemption from holding a licence.

5.—A licence shall not be required in respect of any dog—

(a)whilst such dog is in the possession of a local authority;

(b)whilst such dog is in the possession of the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals or any other person with whom a local authority has entered into an arrangement pursuant to section 15 of this Act;

(c)which is kept by the Garda Síochána and wholly used by a member of the Garda Síochána in the execution of his duty;

(d)which is kept and wholly or mainly used for the purpose of guidance by a blind person or a person whose eyesight is so defective that he is unable to find his way about without guidance;

(e)which is under the age of four months and is kept with its dam or foster-mother;

(f)whilst such dog is in the possession of an inspector (within the meaning of the Diseases of Animals Act, 1966), or other officer of the Minister for Agriculture, or a member of the Garda Síochána, for the purposes of that Act;

(g)which is imported into the State for a period not exceeding thirty days;

(h)which is a greyhound and is purchased for export and which is exported from the State within thirty days after the date of purchase;

(i)which is kept by such other class of person as may be prescribed by the Minister.

6. Transfer of dog licence.

6.—(1)A dog licence issued to a person in respect of a dog may be transferred to any other person when possession of the dog is transferred to such other person.

(2)Subsection (1) of this section shall not apply in any case where the ownership of the dog is transferred to any other person.

7. Duration of licence.

F7[7.—(1) A dog licence shall be in the prescribed form and shall be valid—

(a) at the option of the person to whom it is issued, for—

(i) a period of 12 months, or

(ii) any longer period standing prescribed for the time being,

from the date of its issue, or

(b) at the option of the person to whom it is issued, for a period that is contemporaneous with the remainder of the lifetime of the dog in respect of which the licence is issued.

(2) A general dog licence shall be in the prescribed form and shall be valid, at the option of the person to whom it is issued, for the period of 12 months, or any longer period standing prescribed for the time being, from the date of its issue.]

8. Fee for licence.

F8[8.—(1) Subject tosubsection (2), the following fees are payable to a local authority:

(a) in respect of the issue of a dog licence to whichparagraph (a)ofsubsection (1)ofsection 7(inserted bysection 24of the Dog Breeding Establishments Act 2010) applies,€20;

(b) in respect of the issue of a dog licence to whichparagraph (b)of the saidsubsection (1)applies,€140; or

(c) in respect of the issue of a general dog licence,€400.

F9[(2) The operator of a dog breeding establishment registered under theDog Breeding Establishments Act 2010, where that operator is required to hold a general dog licence, shall not, other than where the operator is a fee exempt applicant within the meaning of section 9 of that Act, be liable to pay a fee in respect of the issue of that licence.]

(3) The Minister may by order amendsubsection (1)by substituting for an amount standing specified for the time being in that subsection an amount equal to the amount obtained by multiplying the first-mentioned amount by the figure specified insubsection (4)and, if the amount so obtained is not a whole number of euros and the Minister considers it appropriate to do so rounding (up or down as he or she thinks fit) the amount to the nearest whole number of euros.

(4) The figure mentioned insubsection (3)is the quotient rounded up to 3 decimal places obtained by dividing the consumer price index number in respect of the year in which the order concerned is made by the consumer price index number in respect of the year in whichsection 25of the Dog Breeding Establishments Act 2010 comes into operation.

(5) Whenever an order is proposed to be made under this section, a draft of the order shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas and the order shall not be made until a resolution approving the draft has been passed by each such House.

(6) In this section "consumer price index number" means the All Items Consumer Price Index Number compiled by the Central Statistics Office, and a reference to the consumer price index number in respect of any year is a reference to the consumer price index number at such date in that year as is determined by the Minister with the consent of the Minister for Finance.]

9. Control of dogs.

9.—(1)The owner or any other person in charge of a dog shall not permit the dog to be in any place other than—

(a)the premises of the owner, or

(b)the premises of such other person in charge of the dog, or

(c)the premises of any other person, with the consent of that person,

unless such owner or such other person in charge of the dog accompanies it and keeps it under effectual control.

(2)If a dog worries livestock, the owner or any other person in charge of the dog shall be guilty of an offence unless it is established that at the material time the dog worried the livestock for the purpose of removing trespassing livestock and that having regard to all the circumstances the action was reasonable and necessary.

(3)F10[…]

10. Control of greyhounds.

10.—(1)A person shall not permit a greyhound to be in any public place unless such greyhound is being led by means of a sufficiently strong chain or leash.

(2)A person shall not lead or cause or permit to be led by any one person more than four greyhounds at a time in any public place.

11. Stray dogs.

11.—(1)A dog warden shall take all reasonable steps to seize and detain any dog that appears to him to be a stray dog and he may enter any premises (other than a dwelling) for the purposes of such seizure and detention.

(2)A member of the Garda Síochána may seize and detain any dog that appears to him to be a stray dog and he may enter any premises (other than a dwelling) for the purposes of such seizure and detention.

(3)Whenever a member of the Garda Síochána seizes or detains a dog pursuant to subsection (2) of this section, he may deliver the dog to the local authority in whose functional area the dog was found.

(4)Whenever a stray dog is seized or detained pursuant to this section by a dog warden or a member of the Garda Síochána, the local authority or, as the case may be, the Superintendent of the Garda Síochána shall give notice to the owner or other person in charge of the dog, if the name of such owner or other person is known to it or him or can be readily ascertained, that the dog has been seized and detained and that the dog will be disposed of, or destroyed, after five days from the date of the giving of the notice, if such dog is not claimed and all expenses relating to its seizure and detention are not paid by the owner or, as the case may be, the person in charge of the dog.

(5)If any person claims a dog which has been seized and detained pursuant to this section, the local authority or the Superintendent of the Garda Síochána shall give the dog to such person if such person—

(a)satisfies the local authority or the Superintendent of the Garda Síochána, as the case may be, that he is the owner of the dog or has been authorised by the owner to claim the dog,

F11[(b)makes a declaration in the prescribed form stating that, either (as the case may be), he is such owner or has been so authorised to claim the dog and produces, for inspection by the local authority or the Superintendent of the Garda Síochána, a dog licence relating to the dog or a general dog licence issued either before or after the commencement of section 2 of the Control of Dogs (Amendment) Act, 1992, and (if issued after such commencement) relating to the premises where the dog is kept, and]

(c)pays the amount of the expenditure incurred by the local authority or by the Garda Síochána in respect of the seizure and detention of the dog.

(6)Whenever a stray dog is seized or detained pursuant to this section by a dog warden or a member of the Garda Síochána, the local authority, or as the case may be, the Superintendent of the Garda Síochána shall cause an entry to be made in the register required to be kept under section 14 of this Act.

(7)Five days following the making of an entry in the register pursuant to subsection (6) of this section, or following the giving of a notice pursuant to subsection (4) of this section, whichever is the later, the local authority, or the Superintendent of the Garda Síochána, as the case may be, if no person has been given the dog pursuant to subsection (5) of this section and paid all expenses relating to its seizure and detention, may, subject to subsection (8) of this section, dispose of the dog or arrange for its destruction in a humane manner.

(8)A local authority or a Superintendent of the Garda Síochána, as the case may be, shall not dispose of a dog pursuant to subsection (7) of this section for the purposes of animal experimentation.

(9)A local authority may, before disposing of a dog under this section, sterilise, or arrange to have sterilised, the dog.

(10)Where a local authority or a Superintendent of the Garda Síochána disposes of a dog under this section, the person to whom the dog is given shall become the owner of the dog and the title of its previous owner shall thereupon become extinguished.

(11)In this Act “stray dog” includes any dog which appears to be unaccompanied by a person unless such dog is on the premises of its owner or of some other person who has the dog in his charge or of any other person with that person’s consent.

(12)The Minister may, by regulations, vary the period of days specified in subsections (4) and (7) of this section.

12. Unwanted dogs.

12.—(1)A local authority may accept from its owner, or from a person authorised by the owner, an unwanted dog and, subject to subsection (2) of this section, may dispose of such dog or arrange for its destruction in a humane manner.

(2)A local authority shall not dispose of a dog pursuant to subsection (1) of this section for the purposes of animal experimentation.

(3)A local authority may, before disposing of a dog under this section, sterilise, or arrange to have sterilised, the dog.

(4)Where a local authority disposes of a dog under this section, the person to whom the dog is given shall become the owner of the dog and the title of its previous owner shall thereupon become extinguished.

13. Finding of stray dogs.

13.—(1)Any person, other than a dog warden or a member of the Garda Síochána, who finds and takes possession of a stray dog shall, forthwith—

(a)return the dog to its owner, or

(b)deliver the dog to a dog warden, or

(c)detain the dog and give notice in writing containing a description of the dog, the address of the place where it was found, and the address of the place where it is detained to the member in charge at the nearest Garda Station to the place where the dog was found, or to a dog warden.

(2)In particular and without prejudice to the provisions of subsection (1) of this section, where any person has reasonable grounds for believing that a stray dog has worried or is about to worry livestock, such person may seize the dog and shall forthwith deliver it to a dog warden.

(3)Where a person has found a stray dog and has retained possession of the dog for a year after the date on which he gave the notice referred to in subsection (1) of this section, and the dog has not been claimed by its owner within that year, such person shall become the owner of the dog and the title of the former owner to the dog shall be extinguished.

(4)Subsection (3) of this section shall not apply if, during the period of a year specified in that subsection, the person who found the dog has ascertained who is the owner of the dog, whereupon such person shall notify the owner that the dog is in his possesion and that the dog can be collected from him.

(5)Notwithstanding the provisions of section 2 of this Act, a person who is not the holder of a general dog licence and who detains a stray dog pursuant to this section shall not be required to obtain a dog licence relating to that dog until he has kept the dog in his possession for a period of not less than twenty-eight days, and the said section 2 shall be construed and have effect accordingly.

14. Register of seized dogs.

14.—(1)Every local authority shall keep a register of all dogs—

(a)seized by a dog warden employed by it, and

(b)detained by any other person and notified to such dog warden.

(2)Every Superintendent of the Garda Síochána shall keep a register of all dogs—

(a)seized by a member of the Garda Síochána under his control, and

(b)detained by any other person and notified to the member in charge of any Garda Station within his area, and

(c)shot by any person and reported to the member in charge of any Garda Station within his area.