Criminal Code Amendment (Dangerous Dogs) Act 2013

Criminal Code Amendment (Dangerous Dogs) Act 2013

An Act to amend the Criminal Code Act 1924 and the Dog Control Act 2000

Be it enacted by His Excellency the Governor of Tasmania, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and House of Assembly, in Parliament assembled, as follows:

PART 1 - Preliminary

1.   Short title

This Act may be cited as the Criminal Code Amendment (Dangerous Dogs) Act 2013 .

2.   Commencement

This Act commences on the day on which this Act receives the Royal Assent.

3.   Repeal of Act

This Act is repealed on the three hundred and sixty fifth day from the day on which it commences.

PART 2 - Criminal Code Act 1924 Amended

4.   Principal Act

In this Part, the Criminal Code Act 1924 is referred to as the Principal Act.

5.    Section 167C inserted

Schedule 1 to the Principal Act is amended by inserting the following section after section 167B in Chapter XVII:

167C.   Causing death or grievous bodily harm by dangerous dog or restricted breed dog

(1)  A person who has care or charge of a dog is guilty of a crime if –

(a) the dog is a dangerous dog or a restricted breed dog; and

(b) the dog attacks and kills, or causes grievous bodily harm to, another person; and

(c) the person with care or charge of the dog knew, or ought to have known, the dog is a dangerous dog or a restricted breed dog; and

(d) at the time of the attack, the person with care or charge of the dog failed to take reasonable steps to ensure the dog was under appropriate control; and

(e) the person knew, or ought to have known, that a failure to keep the dog under appropriate control could expose any person to a risk of death or grievous bodily harm.

Charge:  Causing death or grievous bodily harm by dangerous dog or restricted breed dog.

(2)  For the purposes of subsection (1) , a dog is under appropriate control if the person with care or charge of the dog complies with section 32 of the Dog Control Act 2000 in respect of the dog.

(3)  For the purposes of subsection (1) , a person is taken to have care or charge of a dog if, at the relevant time, the person –

(a) is the owner of the dog; or

(b) has control, possession or custody of the dog; or

(c) is the operator or manager of the premises where the dog is held for commercial purposes.

(4)  One or more persons may have care or charge of a dog at any one time.

(5)  In this section –

attack has the same meaning as in the Dog Control Act 2000 ;

dangerous dog means a dog that has been declared to be a dangerous dog under section 29(1)(a) of the Dog Control Act 2000 due to the dog causing, or there being reasonable cause to believe that the dog is likely to cause, serious injury to a person;

restricted breed dog has the same meaning as in the Dog Control Act 2000 .

PART 3 - Dog Control Act 2000 Amended

6.   Principal Act

In this Part, the Dog Control Act 2000 is referred to as the Principal Act.

7.    Section 29 amended (Declaration of particular dangerous dog)

Section 29 of the Principal Act is amended by inserting after subsection (1) the following subsection:

(2)  If a dog is declared to be a dangerous dog under subsection (1) due to the dog causing, or there being reasonable cause to believe that the dog is likely to cause, serious injury to a person, the general manager who made the declaration is to ensure that all the information known about the dog, and the events taken into account when making the declaration, are –

(a) recorded; and

(b) retained, with a copy of the notice served on the owner of the dog under subsection (1) , for at least 15 years.

[Second reading presentation speech made in:

House of Assembly on 27 AUGUST 2013

Legislative Council on 24 SEPTEMBER 2013]