Control of Greyhounds etc. Act (Northern Ireland) 1950
An Act to provide for the muzzling and control of greyhounds in public places; to restrict the number of greyhounds which may be exercised or led by any one person in a public place; and for purposes connected with the matters aforesaid.
[27th June 1950]
1. Greyhounds not to be in a public place unless controlled and muzzled.
— (1) A person shall not exercise or lead or cause or permit to be exercised, led or at large a greyhound in any street, road, highway or other public place or in any place to which the public have or are permitted to have access, other than
[ premises on which dog trials take place or a track on which dog races of any description take place and for which a track betting licence within the meaning of the Betting, Gaming, Lotteries and Amusements (Northern Ireland) Order 1985 is in force ] , unless such greyhound is both under control and muzzled.
(2) Any person who acts in contravention of any of the foregoing provisions of this section shall be guilty of an offence under this Act. 2. Restriction on number of greyhounds which may be exercised or led in a public place.
— (1) A person shall not exercise or lead, or cause or permit to be exercised or led by any one person, more than two greyhounds in any street, road, highway or other public place, or in any place to which the public have or are permitted to have access, other than
[ such premises or track mentioned in section 1(1) ] .
(2) Any person who acts in contravention of any of the foregoing provisions of this section shall be guilty of an offence under this Act. 3. Penalties.
Any person guilty of an offence under this Act shall be liable, on summary conviction,
... to a fine not exceeding
[ £ 200 ] ... , or to imprisonment for any period not exceeding three months, or to both such fine and such imprisonment.
4. Liability of owner for injury caused by greyhound.
— (1) The owner of any greyhound shall be liable in damages for any injury caused by such greyhound by reason of the contravention of any of the provisions of section one or section two of this Act, and it shall not be necessary for the person seeking such damages to prove that
... the owner knew of such previous propensity, or that the injury was attributable to neglect on the part of the owner.
(2) The provisions of the preceding sub-section shall not prejudice or affect any other right to recover damages for any injury caused by any greyhound. 5. Savings.
— (1) The provisions of this Act shall be in addition to and not in derogation of the provisions of any enactment relating to dogs.
(2) Without prejudice to the generality of the provisions of the preceding sub-section, nothing in this Act shall prevent the pursuing and killing of hares by coursing with greyhounds outside the boundaries of any county borough, borough or urban district. 6. Interpretation.
— (1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, the following expressions have the meanings hereby assigned to them:
— “ contravention ” includes, in relation to any provision, a failure to comply with that provision;
“ enactment ” includes any provision contained in or having effect under any Act of the Parliament of Northern Ireland or of the Parliament of the United Kingdom or of the Irish Parliament;
“ greyhound ” includes any greyhound or whippet and any breed, strain, or cross thereof;
“ muzzled ” , in relation to any greyhound, means wearing any device so constructed and affixed as to prevent that greyhound from biting or otherwise injuring any human being or other animal;
“ under control ” in relation to any greyhound means led by a chain, cord or other efficient leash held by a person exercising proper control over such greyhound.
Subs. (2) rep. by 1954 c. 33 (NI) 7. Short title.
This Act may be cited as the Control of Greyhounds, etc., Act (Northern Ireland), 1950.
