New Zealand Acts

DOG CONTROL ACT 1996 - SECT 69

69 Impounding and subsequent disposal of dog

1 Except as provided in subsection (7) and sections 70, 71, and 71A , where any constable, dog control officer, or dog ranger seizes or is given custody of any dog under this Act, that dog shall, unless it is returned to its owner under subsection (3) or subsection (6) of section 52 , be impounded until it is disposed of in accordance with this section.

2 As soon as practicable after any dog has been impounded, the territorial authority shall, in the case of a dog wearing a current registration label or disc or where the owner of the dog is known through some other means, give written notice to the owner that the dog has been impounded and that unless the dog is claimed and any fee paid within 7 days of the receipt of that notice, it may be sold, destroyed, or otherwise disposed of in such manner as the territorial authority thinks fit; and after the expiry of that period the territorial authority may so dispose of the dog.

3 Where the owner of the dog is not known and cannot be identified from the dog registration label or disc, the territorial authority may, after the expiration of 7 days after the date of seizure of the dog, sell, destroy, or otherwise dispose of the dog in such manner as it thinks fit.

4 The proceeds of the sale of any dog under subsection (2) or subsection (3) may be applied by the territorial authority towards any fees payable to it under this Act by the owner of the dog, and any surplus shall be paid into the dog control account of the territorial authority.

5 The territorial authority shall maintain a record of each dog impounded by it and the method of disposal of that dog.

6 The sale, destruction, or other disposal of a dog under this section shall not relieve the former owner of the dog of the liability for the payment of any fees payable under this Act.

7 Nothing in subsections (1) to (3) shall apply in any case where a constable, dog control officer, or dog ranger seizes or is given custody of a dog pursuant to an order of the District Court that the dog be destroyed.

8 This section does not limit or affect the power of the territorial authority to destroy a dog under section 139 of the Animal Welfare Act 1999 .

Note: 1982 No 42 s 66

History: Section 69(1): amended, on 28 June 2006, by section 29(10)(a) of the Dog Control Amendment Act 2006 (2006 No 23).   Section 69(1): amended, on 28 June 2006, by section 29(10)(b) of the Dog Control Amendment Act 2006 (2006 No 23).     Section 69(8): added, on 1 January 2000, by section 194 of the Animal Welfare Act 1999 (1999 No 142).