Div 3AProhibition orders

Division 3A—Prohibition orders 59A—Prohibition orders (1) A council or the Board may, in accordance with this Division, make a Prohibition Order against a person. (2) A Prohibition Order— (a) prohibits the person from acquiring or becoming responsible for the control of any dog for the period specified in the order; and (b) requires each dog owned by the person, or for the control of which the person is responsible, at the time the order takes effect— (i) to be destroyed or, if the order so allows, disposed of in a specified manner, within a specified period (but not less than one month after the order takes effect); and (ii) until destroyed or disposed of, to be kept or detained at a place specified in the order (or at some other place subsequently approved by the council or the Board (as the case requires)). (3) A council or the Board may, on its own initiative or on application, make a Prohibition Order against a person if satisfied that— (a) while the person owned or was responsible for the control of a dog, the dog attacked, harassed or chased a person or an animal or bird owned by or in the charge of a person in circumstances that would constitute an offence against this Act; and (b) — (i) the dog was already subject to a Destruction Order or a Control (Dangerous Dog) Order; or (ii) during the 5 years preceding the event referred to in paragraph (a), a Destruction Order or a Control (Dangerous Dog) Order was made in relation to some other dog on grounds that arose while the person owned or was responsible for the control of that other dog. (3a) A council or the Board may, on its own initiative or on application, make a Prohibition Order against a person if satisfied that the person is subject to a supervision order under section 269O of the Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935. (4) However, a council or the Board may not make a Prohibition Order if the person satisfies the council or the Board that— (a) the person did not intend the event referred to in subsection (3)(a) to occur and the event did not result from any failure on the part of the person to take all reasonable steps to avoid the occurrence of the event; or (b) the event referred to in subsection (3)(a) occurred while the dog was, without the person's consent, in the possession or control of another person. (5) An order made by a council— (b) must be recorded by the council in a manner and form approved by the Board and the record kept readily available for public inspection; and (c) takes effect when the council gives a copy of the order to the person against whom it is made. (6) An order made by a council may be revoked by the council by written notice to the person against whom the order was made. (7) A note of the revocation must be entered in the record kept by the council under this section. (8) An order made by the Board— (a) takes effect when the Board gives a copy of the order to the person against whom it is made; and (b) may be revoked by the Board by written notice to a person who owns or is responsible for the control of the dog; and (c) must, at the request of the Board, be noted in the register kept under this Act by the council in whose area the dog is usually kept. 59B—Contravention of Prohibition Order (1) A person who contravenes a Prohibition Order is guilty of an offence. (2) It is a defence to a charge of an offence against this section if it is proved that the defendant was not, at the time of the alleged offence, aware that the order was in force. (3) If a Prohibition Order is contravened, an authorised person may take reasonable steps to give effect to the order and the cost of that action may be recovered as a debt from the person subject to the order.