Dog control laws: consultation

Overview

In February 2011, the Control of Dogs (Scotland) Act 2010 (“the 2010 Act”) came into force.  This legislation was a Members’ Bill brought forward by Christine Grahame MSP which gave powers to local authorities to help control dogs within communities.  In particular, powers were granted to local authorities to be able to impose dog control notices (DCNs) on dog owners who allowed their dogs to be out of control.  A DCN contains a number of conditions aimed at requiring dog owners to take more responsibility for their dogs.

The regime introduced by the 2010 Act was intended to be preventative in that its aim was to help identify out of control dogs before they became dangerous so that the behaviour of the dog and the dog owner can be encouraged to change to help avoid future dog attacks occurring.

The use of this legislation has come under scrutiny since it was introduced.  As local authorities have become more used to using their powers under the 2010 Act, a number of issues have been raised about the operation of the legislation and this consultation is looking at how the operational enforcement of the 2010 Act may be improved.  

The areas covered within this consultation have all been raised over a period of time as being potential areas where changes may help local authorities and, where relevant, other enforcement agencies in helping keep communities safe from out of control dogs.

There are wider changes to dog control law which will also be considered in the longer-term in a separate review in 2020.  The focus of this consultation is on practical measures that may improve the operational effectiveness of the operation of the 2010 Act with some, though not all, capable of being progressed without new legislation.

In summary, the Scottish Government is committed to seeking to explore the necessary steps to allow local authorities deliver effective enforcement of the 2010 Act and help the 2010 Act legislative regime deliver on its intended purpose of helping prevent future dog attacks by enabling action to be taken against irresponsible dog owners before their dogs become dangerous.

Why we are consulting

All of the comments received will be considered as potential changes in the areas discussed are assessed.

Consultation contents

This consultation relates to the operation of the 2010 Act.  In particular, it is focused on a number of areas where it has been suggested improvements could be considered to improve the operational effectiveness of the legislation.  

The consultation asks for views on the following:

• Whether a new criminal offence of obstructing/failure to comply with an authorised officer in the course of their duties under the 2010 Act should be created,
• Improving the enforceability of dog control notices through considering whether a national dog control notice database should be established and if a database is established, questions relating to the operation of such a database,
• New powers for dogs to be able to be seized pending a court considering a request from an authorised officer for a dog to be destroyed under the 2010 Act,
• Explore whether further legislative provision may assist in the area of allowing information to be shared with those subject to out of control dogs,
• Allowing fixed penalty notices to be available for breaches of dog control notices,
• How best awareness could be raised in local authority areas as to operation of the 2010 Act,
• Whether there is necessary updating to be done of the Scottish Government statutory guidance on the operation of the 2010 Act including updates relating to data protection issues in the release of information to third parties when action has been taken under the powers of the Act, and
• Whether the non-statutory 2016 Scottish Government developed protocol explaining how local authorities and Police Scotland may wish to approach working more effectively together in responding to reports of out of control dogs should be updated and if so, how best this might be done.