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Dogs Act 1966

NIUE LAWS
LEGISLATION AS AT DECEMBER 2006

DOGS ACT 1966

1966/35 – 1 July 1966

PART 1
PRELIMINARY

1 Short title

2 [Spent]

3 Interpretation

PART 2
THE REGISTRAR

4 Registrar and Registration Office

5 Principal duties of Registrar

6 Register

PART 3
REGISTRATION

7 Dogs to be registered

8 Dog collars and registration labels

9 Mode of registration

10 Effect of registration

11 Annual registration

12 Registration fees and other charges

13 Change of ownership

14 Registration label

15 Offences

16 Dogs that may be destroyed

17 Burden of proof

18 Imposition of fine not to affect fees

19 Remission and refund of fees

PART 4
TOTAL NUMBER OF DOGS ON NIUE SUBJECT TO CONTROL

20-21 [Repealed]

PART 5
LIABILITY FOR INJURIES OR DAMAGE CAUSED BY DOGS

22 Dangerous dogs may be destroyed

23 Dog attacks

24 Proof of mischievous propensity

PART 6
MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

25 Protection of officers of police

26 No liability where dog wounded

27 No compensation for destruction of dogs

28 Fines not affected by destruction of dog

29 Destroyed dogs

30 Offences (General)

31-32 [Repealed]

33 Liability of owners of dogs

_____________________________

To provide for the registration and control of dogs and the liability for injuries and damage caused by dogs

1 Short title

This is the Dogs Act 1966.

2 [Spent]

3 Interpretation

In this Act

"owner" (of a dog) includes every person who –

(i) has the dog in his keep, care, custody, charge, or possession for the time being, whether the dog is at large or in confinement; or

(ii) occupies any dwelling, business premises or other place in which the dog is usually harboured or permitted to remain; and

"registration label" means the label described in section 8 (1);

"Secretary" means the Financial Secretary appointed under the authority of the Customs Act 1966;

"vehicle" means any vehicle within the meaning of the Transport Act 1965;

"year" means a period of 12 months commencing on 1 April in each year and ending with 31 March then next ensuing.

PART 2
THE REGISTRAR

4 Registrar and Registration Office

(1) The duties of the Registrar under this Act shall form part of the duties of the Chief Officer of Police.

(2) (a) The Chief Officer of Police shall be deemed to be "the Registrar" within the meaning of this Act;

(b) Any reference in this Act to the Registrar shall be construed to include reference to every constable performing the duties of Registrar under this Act on behalf and under the authority of the Chief Officer of Police.

(3) The office of the Chief Officer of Police shall be deemed to be the office of the Registrar.

5 Principal duties of Registrar

The principal duties of the Registrar shall be –

(a) To keep at his office a register for the purposes of this Act;

(b) To make in the register the entries required by this Act;

(c) To receive and record all registration fees and any other money payable at his office under this Act.

6 Register

(1) The pages of the register shall be divided into columns under headings and indicating the entries required to be made by section 9(2)(b).

(2) The register shall be kept in book form or in any other form approved by Cabinet.

(3) The register may be examined by any person during office hours free of charge.

PART 3
REGISTRATION

7 Dogs to be registered

(1) No person shall own any dog of a greater age than 6 months for a period exceeding 14 days unless the dog is for the time being registered under this Act.

(2) Every owner of any such dog who does not apply for registration of that dog on or before the expiration of the period of 14 days commits an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding 0.5 penalty units.

(3) It shall be lawful for the owner of any dog to have his dog registered before it attains the age of 6 months and the Registrar shall not refuse registration on the ground that the dog has not attained that age.

8 Dog collars and registration labels

(1) There shall be kept at the office of the Registrar a supply of dog collars having a metal label securely affixed to each collar numbered consecutively from number one in each year upwards and marked with the year for which each collar is issued.

(2) Every owner shall be entitled to receive a collar, as provided in section 9 in respect of each dog which is being registered.

(3) Duplicate collars shall be issued on affirmation that the original has been lost or stolen.

9 Mode of registration

(1) Application for every registration required under this Act shall be made by the owner, or by some person on his behalf, delivering or giving at the office of the Registrar a description of the dog and paying the prescribed registration fee and other charges (if any) unless remitted under section 19 with his application for registration.

(2) On receiving every amount so payable the Registrar shall –

(a) Issue a receipt therefore and a collar bearing the then available next number in consecutive order, to be worn on the neck of the dog;

(b) Register the dog by entering in the register –

(i) the name and residence of the owner;

(ii) the number of the registration label on the collar issued;

(iii) a description of the dog by which the collar is to be worn including kind or breed, age, sex, colour and other distinguishing marks or peculiarities (if any);

(iv) such other particulars as Cabinet may determine.

(3) Every person applying for the registration of a dog, who knowingly inserts or omits, or knowingly causes or permits to be inserted or omitted in the description of the dog to be registered any matter or thing contrary to or for the purpose of concealing the truth or who wilfully makes any false or misleading statement or material omission in any information supplied to the Registrar, commits an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding 0.5 penalty units.

10 Effect of registration

Every registration when duly made shall be deemed to be in force on the day on which it is made, and shall continue in force until 31 March then next ensuing.

11 Annual registration

(1) Every registration shall be again made on or before 15 April of the next ensuing year if the dog first registered is still alive and kept on Niue at that time and shall be again so made from year to year.

(2) Every owner who does not apply for registration on or before 15 April of each year as specified in subsection (1) commits an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding 0.5 penalty units.

(3) The provisions of section 8(2), section 9 and section 10 shall apply.

12 Registration fees and other charges

(1) The fees payable for the registration of dogs under section 7 or section 11 shall be as Cabinet may prescribe by regulation.

(2) The charge for collars and duplicate collars including registration labels shall be such amount of money as Cabinet by public notice may determine, and as far as not so determined the charge for a collar as aforesaid shall be deemed to be included in the registration fee provided in subsection (1) and the charge for duplicate collars shall be the amount of their cost to the Government.

13 Change of ownership

(1) Where the ownership of a registered dog is changed, the registration of the dog shall continue in force, but the new owner shall within 14 days notify the Registrar of the change in ownership, and the Registrar shall, without payment of any fee, enter the name of the new owner in the register in substitution for the name of the previous owner.

(2) Every person who fails to notify the Registrar as aforesaid commits an offence.

14 Registration label

(1) It shall be lawful for the owner of any dog registered under this Act to affix to any other dog collar (in the manner in which it was affixed to the collar supplied by the Registrar) the registration label affixed to the collar supplied in respect of that dog by the Registrar.

(2) Nothing in this section shall be construed to authorise the wearing of any registration label by any dog other than the dog in respect of which it was issued.

15 Offences

(1) Every person commits an offence who –

(a) Falsely makes or counterfeits or, knowing the same to be false or counterfeit, purchases, uses, or has in his possession any label resembling or apparently intended to resemble or pass for a registration label;

(b) Is the owner of any dog wearing a registration label issued in respect of another dog; or

(c) Has his dog duly registered but allows it to be at large not wearing a collar having the registration label affixed to it;

(d) Wilfully abandons any dog, whether for the purpose of avoiding registration or not;

(e) Removes (except for the purposes of section 14) the registration label affixed to the collar to be worn by his dog; or

(f) Removes from the neck of any dog the collar or the registration label required by his Act to be worn by that dog.

(2) If any dog is destroyed as provided in section 16 in consequence of the removal of the collar or registration label specified in subsection (1)(f), every person responsible for such removal may be ordered to pay to the owner the full value of the dog so destroyed as determined by the court in addition to any fine imposed.

16 Dogs that may be destroyed

(1) Any constable may destroy every dog found at large in any place, if that dog –

(a) Being a dog apparently over the age of 6 months does not wear a collar having the registration label affixed; or

(b) Being a dog of any age and whether wearing a collar as aforesaid or not, is apparently suffering from disease or neglect.

(2) Every constable may for the purposes of this section enter any place at any time.

(3) Any person other than a constable finding a dog apparently over the age of 6 months at large in any place not being a public place without wearing a collar having the registration label affixed to it, may, without being answerable to the owner, destroy the dog if, on reasonable grounds he fears that the dog may cause damage to his property.

17 Burden of proof

In any proceedings under this Act –

(a) Any dog not wearing a collar having the registration label affixed to it shall, until the contrary is proved, be deemed to be unregistered;

(b) Any dog wearing after 15 April in any year a collar having affixed to it the registration label issued for the year preceding the then current year, shall, until the contrary is proved, be deemed to be not registered for the then current year as prescribed in section 11;

(c) The proof that a dog has been duly registered or does not require to be registered, shall be on the defendant.

18 Imposition of fine not to affect fees

The imposition by the Court of any fine for failing to comply with this Act relating to registration shall not be construed as a release from the payment of any fee or other charge due.

19 Remission and refund of fees

The Cabinet on grounds of hardship, may cause the whole or any portion of any fee payable under this Act to be remitted or refunded.

PART 4
TOTAL NUMBER OF DOGS ON NIUE SUBJECT TO CONTROL

20 [Repealed by 1974/11/93]

21 [Repealed by 2004/270]

PART 5
LIABILITY FOR INJURIES OR DAMAGE CAUSED BY DOGS

22. Dangerous dogs may be destroyed

Where complaint is made to the Chief Officer of Police or the court that a dog, whether at large or not, is dangerous and is not kept under proper control, the court, if it is satisfied as to the grounds of the complaint, may, in addition to any fine that may be imposed under this Act, order that the dog be destroyed by the Police.

23 Dog attacks

(1) Where any dog –

(a) Rushes at, or attacks, bites, startles or worries any person or any kind of poultry or animal being the property of any person whereby such person, poultry or animal is killed or injured or endangered or any other property damaged or endangered; or

(b) Rushes at any vehicle in such a manner as to cause or to be likely to cause an accident; the owner of the dog commits an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding 0.5 penalty units.

(2) If it is proved to the satisfaction of the Court that the owner of a dog which causes an occurrence as aforesaid, permitted that dog to be at large although the dog was known to him to have been the cause of any such occurrence before, the owner shall be liable to a fine not exceeding 0.5 penalty units in lieu of the fine provided in subsection (1).

(3) Any person affected by the occurrence or witnessing same may, without being answerable to the owner, forthwith destroy the dog.

(4) Any fine provided in this section may be imposed in addition to any liability the owner may incur for injury or damage caused by the dog.

(5) In addition to any fine imposed under this section, the court may order that any dog which has not been destroyed under subsection (3), be destroyed by the Police.

24 Proof of mischievous propensity

The owner of a dog shall be liable in damages for injury done by the dog, and it shall not be necessary for the person seeking damages to show a previous mischievous propensity, or that the injury was attributable to neglect on the part of the owner of the dog.

PART 6
MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

25 Protection of officers of police

The Chief Officer of Police shall with the approval of Cabinet issue directions as to the method to be followed by constables in destroying dogs in the respective circumstances specified in this Act, and no constable who, while exercising the powers conferred on him by this Act, in good faith does or orders or causes to be done may act in pursuance or intended pursuance of directions so issued, shall be under any civil or criminal liability in respect of it.

26 No liability where dog wounded

No person who, with the intention of destroying any dog under powers conferred on him by this Act, wounds or maims the dog shall, except in a case in which he causes unnecessary suffering to the dog, be under any liability, whether criminal or civil, for any injury done to the dog.

27 No compensation for destruction of dogs

No compensation shall be payable to the owner of any dog destroyed by the police under any order made in that behalf by the court under this Act or in the exercise of powers conferred in that behalf on the police by the provisions of this Act.

28 Fines not affected by destruction of dog

Where this Act provides for the imposition of a fine for any offence specified in this Act that fine may be imposed by the Court whether or not the dog in respect of which the offence has been committed, was destroyed before the fine is imposed.

29 Destroyed dogs

The Chief Officer of Police shall, with the approval of Cabinet, issue directions for the method of collection and disposal of carcasses destroyed by the Police under this Act and any directions so issued shall be carried out accordingly.

30 Offences (General)

(1) Every person commits an offence who –

(a) Fails to comply with any duty or obligation imposed on him by this Act; or

(b) Wilfully makes any false or misleading statement or any material omission in any application, information, or report to the police or the Secretary;

(c) Wilfully obstructs, hinders, or resists any person in the exercise or execution of any power, duty, or function conferred or imposed on such person by the provisions of this Act.

(2) Every person who commits an offence against this Act for which no penalty is provided in this Act elsewhere than in this section or in the Niue Act 1966 is liable to a fine not exceeding 0.5 penalty units.

31-32 [Repealed by 2004/270]

33 Liability of owners of dogs

In any action for damages for the act of a dog in attacking a human being or any animal, it shall be no defence that the defendant had no knowledge of the dangerous or mischievous character of the dog.