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Laws applying to dogs and their owners, only in Scotland.
The Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006 came into force in October 2006.
This Act introduces the new legal concept of a ‘duty of care’, which means that people are now legally obliged to ensure the welfare of the animals in their care. A person who owns a dog, or is looking after a dog (or other animals covered by the Act) must make sure the dog has a suitable environment; has a suitable diet; is able to exhibit normal behaviour patterns; is protected from pain, suffering, injury and disease. The carer must also address the dog’s need to be housed with, or apart from, other animals.
The Act also covers the sale of animals to people under 16 years, dog fighting, tail docking and more.
For more information on this Act, and the Animal Welfare Act (introduced in England and Wales) click here (opens new browser window)
The Dog Fouling (Scotland) Act 2003 replaced Section 48 of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982, which made it illegal for a dog to foul specified public places, regardless of whether the excrement was immediately removed or not.
The new Act is much more reasonable in that it now makes it an offence to fail to clear up after your dog, rather than of simply allowing a dog to foul. It also allows local authorities and police constables to issue fixed penalty notices to persons suspected of committing the offence.
Here are some relevant points from the Dog Fouling (Scotland) Act 2003:
• It is an offence to not clear up your dog’s excrement and dispose of it appropriately.
• This applies to all public places.
• Only one witness needs to be present – which means that you only need to be seen by one police officer or local authority representative.
• A fixed penalty notice may be issued to anyone suspected of committing an offence and there is a period of 28 days in which you may appeal against this.
• Failure to pay the fixed penalty notice or to request an appeal hearing within the 28 period will result in the fixed penalty being increased by 50% and being enforceable as if it were a court decree.
Exceptions to the above are when:
• The person has a reasonable excuse for failing to remove the faeces. This could be if the dog had diarrhoea and some was left after trying to clear up as much as possible. It could also be if removing the faeces would risk injury to the person clearing up, or to others.
• If every person who owns, occupies or controls the relevant land gives permission for people to let dogs defecate on their land, without clearing up. If more than one person owns, occupies or controls the land, then all must give their permission for this to apply.
• This law does also not apply to blind people with guidedogs and stockpersons in charge of working dogs. Disabled persons with assistance dogs are also exempted but only if their disability is such that they cannot physically pick the excrement up.
For more information on Scottish legislation and for the full text of the Act please visit www.opsi.gov.uk/legislation/scotland/s-acts.htm
