The low down on the WA Dog Amendment Bill 2013

 

A Western Australian pound facility

 

Released on the 26 June, the Second Reading of the Dog Amendment Bill 2013 (2012), is now available for download.

There have been claims that these laws are ‘breed neutral’ with Local Government Minister Tony Simpson stating in the media;

“It’s all about protecting people as well as pets. The focus is on the behaviour of dogs, not their breed.”

But unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth. These laws seek to give councils much greater powers to enter premises, declare and seize dogs deemed to be ‘restricted breeds’ (or mixes or crosses of them), and to make it practically impossible for a dog owner to fight the declaration in court.

The bad, the worse and the ugly in the WA Dog Bill

The Dog Amendment Bill 2013 introduces three classifications of dogs, all to now be placed under the category ‘dangerous dogs’.

1. ‘Commercial security’ dangerous dog – means a dog that is kept primarily for the purpose of guarding or protecting premises that are not dwellings and that are not the premises of the dog’s owner, whether or not accompanied by a dog handler.

2. ‘Declared’ dangerous dog – means an individual dog that is declared to be a dangerous dog because they:
– have caused injury or damage by an attack on, or chasing, a person, animal or vehicle;
– have repeatedly, shown a tendency to attack, or chase, a person, animal or vehicle even though no injury has been caused by that behaviour; or
– have ‘threatened’ to attack

3. ‘Restricted breed’ dangerous dog -is of a breed prescribed by the regulations to be a restricted breed; or is a mix or cross of a restricted breed.

Of the five dogs on this list, four breeds don’t exist in WA – the dogo Argentino, fila Brasileiro, Japanese tosa, Perro de Presa Canario. The one that does exist, but has been restricted since 2006, is the American pit bull terrier.

Dogs who are considered Dangerous Dogs under any of these three classifications, are subject to intense ownership restrictions.

Dogs must;
– be sterilised at or before 3 months (penalty: a fine of $10 000, but the minimum penalty is a fine of $500)
– wear a prescribed ‘dangerous dog’ collar (penalty: a fine of $10 000, but the minimum penalty is a fine of $500)
– be kept in an escape-proof, locked enclosure which prevents a child who has not reached 7 years of age from entering, or inserting any part of its body into, the enclosure (suggesting solid sides) (penalty: a fine of $10 000, but the minimum penalty is a fine of $500)

Owners must:
– display a sign at the entrance of the premises where the dog is ordinarily kept (penalty: a fine of $10 000, but the minimum penalty is a fine of $500)
– muzzle the dog when it is not confined to its enclosure (penalty: a fine of $10 000, but the minimum penalty is a fine of $500)

A ‘Restricted breed’ dangerous dog cannot be advertised, sold or bought, bred or transferred. ‘Transferred’, is specified in the legislation as including;

to reclaim from a dog management facility

… suggesting that ‘Restricted breed’ dangerous dogs will also not be able to be reclaimed from the pound.

An authorised person (police officer, ranger or third party) may, without a warrant and without consent, enter any premises other than a dwelling where the person reasonably suspects a dangerous dog to be. They can also search vehicles.

Just think about that one for a moment.

Once on your property, authorised persons can seize dogs believed to be a ‘Restricted breed’ dangerous dog including any pups.

No ‘Restricted breed’ dangerous dog pups under three months of age can be kept at all (penalty: a fine of $10,000, but the minimum penalty is a fine of $500).

Council may simply refuse to register your dog if they deem it to be a ‘Restricted breed’ dangerous dog making keeping your dog and staying at your current address impossible.

If you wish to challenge a local council declaration at the State Administrative Tribunal, the declaration by council that your dog is a ‘Restricted breed’ dangerous dog – or a mix or cross – the onus of proving that your dog is not a restricted breed lays with you. Your dog is guilty until proven innocent.

Finally, if a dangerous dog should kill a person, or endanger their lives, the penalty is imprisonment for 10 years. This penalty does not apply to dogs who have not been declared, including all other breeds, making the assertion that these laws aren’t breed specific farcical.

But my dog isn’t a bull breed – why should I be worried?

Dog registration and microchipping are the major tools this legislation is using to manage dogs, which on the face of it is a good thing.

Registration;
– all existing dogs will need to be registered by three months of age (penalty; a fine of $5,000)
– new owner must register the dog with the council within 28 days (penalty; a fine of $5,000)
– changes to your personal information or your dogs details must be given in writing to your council within 7 days (penalty $5,000)
– council can refuse to register your dog if it has shown to be ‘destructive, unduly mischievous or suffering from a contagious or infectious disease’.
– councils can also introduce ‘lifetime registration’ for the first time in WA
– dogs must wear a collar and registration tag whenever they are in public (including when roaming, or lost) (penalty; a fine of $5,000)

Microchipping;
– all existing dogs must be microchipped by three months of age (penalty $5,000)
– all new dogs (puppies) will need to be microchipped before sale (penalty $5,000)
– unchipped dogs may be microchipped before release from the pound – at the cost to the owner
– any person who transfers ownership of a dog, must tell the microchipping company the details of the new owner within 7 days (penalty $5,000).

So, you’ll want to make sure your dog’s paperwork is always totally current and up to date, or face a big new government tax on your pet keeping.

Councils can restrict the number of dogs allowed to be kept in your local council area from between two, to six adult dogs.

They can also limit the number of dogs of a specific breed that can be kept in or at premises in the local government’s district (not including ‘restricted breeds’, but other breeds entirely), further restricting your pet ownership decisions.

Councils can seize a dog/dogs if;
– an attack by the dog has occurred; or
– an attack by the dog is likely to occur; or
– if the dog is not under effective control in a public place (including dog parks), and/or is roaming. The authorised officer can enter any premises while pursuing a dog, for the purpose of seizing it.

The fine for a dog being in a public place without its owner is $5,000. And that’s if she behaves herself.

If your dog attacks or chases any person or animal and physical injury is caused to the person or animal the penalty is $10,000 (for Dangerous Dog the fine is $20,000), with a minimum penalty of $1,000.

If your dog attacks or chases any person or animal without causing physical injury to the person or animal the penalty is $3,000 (for Dangerous Dog the fine is $10,000) with a minimum penalty of $500.

For any of these offences, you may be mandated to attend a dog training class, in addition to paying the fine.

If your dog causing nuisance by barking or ‘behaves consistently in a manner contrary to the general interest of the community’ (whatever the hell that means), you may be issued with an order requiring you to prevent the behaviour that is alleged to constitute the nuisance. Failing to comply sees a penalty of $5,000 (for Dangerous Dog the fine is $10,000) with a minimum penalty of $500.

But what about the pounds? Do our pets get a better deal?

Well, ‘pounds’ will now be called ‘dog management facilities’. They can still kill dogs with a shotgun. They can still have craptastic facilities and everything can get cold, hot, wet and sick. They can still lump dog control in with ‘garbage collection’. There is no new requirement for council to offer a dog rehoming program, or work with rescue groups. But thanks to this bill, they just get a shiny new name.

Although the new bill outlines large fines for not microchipping your pet, there is practically no requirement for council to diligently scan pets as they come in.

After impoundment, if the dog is wearing a registration tag or is microchipped or the owner is otherwise readily identifiable, council must notify the owner and hold the dog for 7 days (an increase from 72hrs, which still applies if the dog has no ID)

However, the council does not have to scan a dog if;
– the dog behaves aggressively towards the council officer or any other person; and
– the council officer believes on reasonable grounds that there is a danger the safety of any person in attempting to scan the dog

So if a dog is marked as ‘aggressive’ in their temp notes, or presumed to be a ‘Restricted breed’ dangerous dog then council can simply hold them 72hrs and then kill them as unmicrochipped. No foul.

What does the WA RSPCA have to say on all these draconian dog ownership plans?

Astoundingly, they gave the new legislation the thumbs up;

The RSPCA has welcomed the move which is designed to crack down on backyard dog breeders.

RSPCA president Lynne Bradshaw says the new rules will make a big difference.

“We’re particularly pleased to see a compulsory micro-chipping of dogs, and that goes some way towards dealing with one of our issues which is breeding of backyard animals,” she said.
“It’s not going the whole way as far as the RSPCA is concerned.

“We would like to see breeder registration but it really does take a very big step forward.”

So keen are they to get the ‘greedy evil breeders’, that they’ve left dog owners to fend for, and defend their pets on their own, without so much as a peep for the potential problems these largely BSL based laws are going to cause.

Sadly, while most people won’t read the legislation, or understand that just because they’ve never had a problem before, that they won’t fall foul of the laws, the new Dog Laws in WA will likely soon be passed, and many, many good dog owners are going to find themselves on the pointy end of losing their pets, just for it looking a bit too much like a pibble.

 

See also: Dog days of the WA dog Act