New legislation in relation to Domestic Animals: Please note that a new version of the Domestic Animals Act 1994 (DA Act) and Domestic Animals Regulations 2005 will commence today (1 July 2014). The changes to the Act were introduced through the Domestic Animals Amendment Act 2014. The new legislation amends the Domestic Animals Act 1994 and the Crimes Act 1958 implementing two of the recommendations made to the Government by the Coroner in the inquest of the death of four-year-old Ayen Chol. The Bill also enhances the enforcement and administration of the declared dogs provisions and makes other minor machinery and technical amendments to improve administration of the Domestic Animals Act. The changes to the Regulations introduces a prescribed form to meet the new requirements under the DA Act. Key Changes to the legislation include: Reducing from 28 days to 14 days the period for an application to VCAT for review of a declaration of a restricted breed dog (RBD) Enabling VCAT to make an order for Council’s costs of keeping an impounded RBD Requiring owners of dangerous, menacing or restricted breed dogs to notify both councils if the dog is to be moved into another municipal district Introducing a new offence for hindering or obstructing an Authorised Officer (AO) Providing that, if a declaration that a dog is a restricted breed dog has been made by an AO who has completed a Ministers course, then it is presumed, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, that the dog is a restricted breed dog Enabling the Court to disqualify a person from owning or being in control of a dog Creating an offence for breeding a restricted breed dog Providing a power to take a sample for DNA analysis to prove a breeding offence or dog attack offence Provide for an authorised officer to obtain a warrant to enter residential premises and seize goods, documents and a dog (which may not itself be a restricted breed dog), in order to determine whether the breeding of a restricted breed dog has occurred Enable an authorised officer to serve notice on a veterinarian requiring the veterinarian to produce or make available for inspection any documents relevant to determining whether another person has committed the new breeding offence The requirement for additional information to be notified to the Secretary by Councils The new Domestic Animals Act 1994 and Domestic Animals Regulations 2005 will be available at legislation.vic.gov.au, click on law today then select Acts beginning with D or Statutory Rules beginning with ‘D’.
Posted on: Tue, 01 Jul 2014 07:20:46 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015