We are sure you are aware there were some updates made to the control of dogs order 1991

These changes came into effect in May 2014.

Below is an overview of said changes.

It’s against the law to let a dog be dangerously out of control anywhere, eg:

• in a public place
• in a private place (eg a neighbour’s house or garden)
• in the owner’s home

The law applies to all dogs.

The important change here is that this law now applies to private property (dog owners garden and within the home).

Therefore if lets say a delivery person were to push something through a letter box and the dog inside caused injury or even gave the impression to the delivery person that they might cause injury. Said owner or persons in charge are in breach of this order and in turn open to prosecution.

Out of control

Your dog is considered dangerously out of control if it:

• injures someone
• makes someone worried that it might injure them

A court could also decide that your dog is dangerously out of control if:

• it injures someone’s animal
• the owner of the animal thinks they could be injured if they tried to stop your dog attacking their animal

A farmer is allowed to kill your dog if it’s worrying their livestock.

Note. Out of control applies to dog causing someone worry that they may cause injury.

Penalties

You can be fined up to £5,000 and/or sent to prison for up to 6 months if your dog is dangerously out of control. You may not be allowed to own a dog in the future and your dog may be destroyed.

If you let your dog injure someone you can be sent to prison for up to 5 years and/or fined. If you deliberately use your dog to injure someone you could be charged with ‘malicious wounding’.

If you allow your dog to kill someone you can be sent to prison for up to 14 years and/or get an unlimited fine.

If you allow your dog to injure a guide dog you can be sent to prison for up to 3 years and/or fined.