New Zealand Legislation: Acts

15 Power of dog control officer or dog ranger to feed and shelter dogs

• (1) A dog control officer or dog ranger who has reasonable grounds to suspect that a dog is without access to proper and sufficient food, water, or shelter may enter on any land or premises where the dog is present and do 1 or more of the following things:

  • (a) supply the dog with food, water, or shelter:

  • (b) enter onto the land or premises from time to time to continue to supply the dog with food, water, or shelter:

  • (c) seize the dog and remove it from the land or premises.

  (2) A dog may be seized and removed under subsection (1)(c) only if the dog control officer or dog ranger—

  • (a) is satisfied that the dog is without access to proper and sufficient food, water, or shelter; and

  • (b) has reasonable cause to suspect that (but for the food, water, or shelter supplied by the dog control officer or dog ranger) the dog will not be given access to proper and sufficient food, water, or shelter within the next 24 hours.

  (3) If a dog is seized under subsection (1)(c), the dog control officer or dog ranger—

  • (a) must give written notice in the prescribed form to the owner of the dog or, if the owner is not present, to the person for the time being appearing to be in charge of the land or premises; and

  • (b) may retain custody of the dog until—

    • (i) the dog control officer or dog ranger is satisfied that the dog will be given access to sufficient food, water, and shelter from its owner; or

    • (ii) the dog is disposed of under section 71A.

  (4) For the purposes of subsection (3), if no person is present on the land or premises, the dog control officer or dog ranger must leave the notice in a conspicuous place on the land or premises.

  (5) All reasonable costs incurred in the seizure, custody, sustenance, and transport of a dog under this section may be recovered as a debt from the owner of the dog.

  (6) [Repealed]

  Section 15: substituted, on 1 December 2003, by section 7 of the Dog Control Amendment Act 2003 (2003 No 119).

  Section 15(3)(a): amended, on 7 July 2004, by section 3(1) of the Dog Control Amendment Act 2004 (2004 No 61).

  Section 15(3)(b): substituted, on 28 June 2006, by section 8(1) of the Dog Control Amendment Act 2006 (2006 No 23).

  Section 15(4): amended, on 7 July 2004, by section 3(2) of the Dog Control Amendment Act 2004 (2004 No 61).

  Section 15(6): repealed, on 28 June 2006, by section 8(2) of the Dog Control Amendment Act 2006 (2006 No 23).