Part 6Civil actions relating to dogs

Part 6—Civil actions relating to dogs 65—Ownership and responsibility for control of dogs in civil actions In civil proceedings relating to injury, damage, loss or nuisance caused by a dog, questions of ownership or responsibility for the control of the dog will be determined as if the proceedings were criminal proceedings under this Act. 66—Liability for dogs1 (1) The keeper of a dog is liable in tort for injury, damage or loss caused by the dog. (2) It is not necessary for the plaintiff to establish— (a) negligence; or (b) knowledge of the dog's vicious, dangerous or mischievous propensity. (3) However, the keeper's liability is subject to the following qualifications: (a) if the injury, damage or loss results from provocation of the dog by a person other than the keeper, the keeper's liability (if any) will be decided according to the Civil Liability Act 1936 principles; (b) if the injury, damage or loss results from an attack on the dog by an animal for the control of which the keeper is not responsible, the keeper's liability (if any) will be decided according to the Civil Liability Act 1936 principles; (c) if the injury, damage or loss is caused to a trespasser on land on which the dog is kept, the keeper's liability (if any) will be decided according to the Civil Liability Act 1936 principles; (d) if the injury, damage or loss is caused while the dog is being used in the reasonable defence of a person or property, the keeper's liability (if any) will be determined according to the Civil Liability Act 1936 principles; (e) if the injury, damage or loss is caused while the dog is in the possession or control of a person without the keeper's consent, the keeper's liability (if any) will be determined according to the Civil Liability Act 1936 principles; (f) the keeper's liability (if any) is subject to any other defence available under the law of tort. (4) If the plaintiff's negligence contributed to the injury, damage or loss, the damages will be reduced to the extent the court thinks just and equitable having regard to the plaintiff's share in responsibility for injury, damage or loss. (5) In this section— keeper of a dog means the owner of the dog, or if the owner is under 18 years of age, the child's parents or guardians, and includes a person into whose possession the dog has been delivered; provocation means— (a) teasing, tormenting or abusing the dog; (b) any act of cruelty towards the dog; (c) attacking the owner of the dog, or a person towards whom the dog could reasonably be expected to be protective, in front of the dog. 1 At common law, the keeper of an animal was strictly liable for injury caused by the animal if the animal was ferae naturae (ie an undomesticated animal). If the animal was mansuetae naturae (ie a domestic animal), liability was dependent on proof of scienter (ie knowledge of the animal's dangerous or mischievous propensity). These rules were abolished by Part 3 of the Civil Liability Act 1936 which provides that negligence is the basis of liability. This section, however, qualifies the Civil Liability Act 1936 principles by imposing strict liability in relation to dogs subject, however, to statutory qualifications. 67—Court's power to make orders relating to dogs in civil actions In civil proceedings relating to injury, damage, loss or nuisance caused by a dog, the court may make any order that a court could make if the proceedings were criminal proceedings under this Act (and the order takes effect as if it had been made in such proceedings).