The Dogs (Fixed Penalty) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2011

Made: 19th July 2011

Coming into operation: 3rd October 2011

The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development[^f00001], makes the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by Articles 36(4) and 38(4) of the Dogs (Northern Ireland) Order 1983[^f00002]:

Citation and commencement

1

These Regulations may be cited as the Dogs (Fixed Penalty) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2011 and shall come into operation on 3rd October 2011.

Interpretation

2

In these Regulations “the Order” means the Dogs (Northern Ireland) Order 1983.

Form of a fixed penalty notice

3

A notice under Article 36 of the Order offering the opportunity, by payment of a fixed penalty, of the discharge of any liability to conviction of an offence to which Articles 36 to 39 of the Order apply shall be in the form set out in the Schedule.

Prescribed ranges of fixed penalties

4

The amount of a fixed penalty capable of being specified by a district council under Article 38(1)(a) of the Order is not less than £50 and not more than £80.

Lesser amounts of fixed penalties

5

Where a district council acting under Article 38(3) of the Order makes provisions for treating a fixed penalty as having been paid if a lesser amount is paid before the end of a period specified by that authority, such lesser amount shall be not less than £50.

Revocations

6

The Dogs (Fixed Penalty) (Procedure) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1983[^f00003] are revoked.

SCHEDULE

Signed

Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development on 19th July 2011.

C. McMaster — A senior officer of the Department Agriculture and Rural Development

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

EXPLANATORY NOTE

These Regulations prescribe the form of the fixed penalty notice which may be given by an officer of a district council to the keeper of a dog under the procedure in Part IV of the Dogs (Northern Ireland) Order 1983 (“the Order”) whereby certain offences may be punished without prosecution.

The notice offers the opportunity of discharging any liability to conviction of the offence specified in the notice by the payment of a fixed penalty to the district council that issued the notice. Such offence may relate to—

• (a) keeping a dog without a valid licence (Article 17(1) of the Order);

• (b) a dog straying (Article 22(1) of the Order);

• (c) control on certain roads and on land (Article 25(3) of Order);

• (d) failure to display identification of keeper on a dog’s collar or on a plate or badge attached to it (Regulation 6(1) of the Dogs (Licensing and Identification) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2011 and Article 31(2) of the Order);

• (e) failure to attach licence information to a dog’s collar (Regulation 7 of the Dogs (Licensing and Identification) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2011 and Article 31(2) of the Order);

• (f) greyhounds not controlled and muzzled in a public place (Section 1 of the Control of Greyhounds, etc, Act (Northern Ireland) 1950);

• (g) more than two greyhounds being exercised or led by one person in a public place (Section 2 of the Control of Greyhounds, etc, Act (Northern Ireland) 1950);

• (h) failure to comply with control conditions of a dog licence;

• (i) failure to notify transfer of a dog subject to control conditions.

Footnotes

[^f00001]: Formerly the Department of Agriculture for Northern Ireland; see S.I. 1999/283 (N.I. 1) Article 3(4)

[^f00002]: S.I. 1983/764 (N.I. 8) as amended by S.I. 1991/2292 (N.I. 21), 2001 c.1 (N.I.) and 2011 c.9 (N.I.)

[^f00003]: S.R. 1983 No. 382