Dangerous dogs law comes under review

Amendments to the criminal law relating to dangerous dogs are the subject of a new consultation from the Scottish Government. 

The discussion paper relates to the operation of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, and in particular the criminal offence of a dog being dangerously out of control in s 3 of the Act.

Scotland has taken a different approach to the interpretation of the s 3 offence as compared with England & Wales. The Scottish courts require it to be shown that the owner, or person in charge of the dog, had a reasonable apprehension that the dog will injure any person, therefore prior actings of the dog and the fact that the owner knew about them require to be established for an offence to be committed.

While in criminal law policy terms, it may be seen as unfair to hold a person criminally liable for the actions of their dog if they had no reason to suspect that it would act in a dangerously out of control manner, the existence of this requirement can prove to be a difficult evidential hurdle. The review will explore why the criminal law is framed and operates in this way in Scotland.

Initial views are invited on whether this is an appropriate approach or whether there could be a different way in approaching how the criminal law can hold to account dog owners and others who allows dogs to act in a dangerous manner.

Respondents are also invited to offer views on wider dog control law as they see fit.

Click here to access the consultation. The deadline for submissions is 30 April 2021.