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Dog Control Act 1996

Dog control officers and dog rangers

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

You could also call this:

"Dog control officers can feed, shelter, and care for dogs that are not being looked after properly."

If you are a dog control officer or dog ranger, you can help dogs that do not have enough food, water, or shelter. You can enter the land where the dog is and give the dog food, water, or shelter. You can also keep going back to check on the dog and give it more food, water, or shelter if it needs it.

If you think the dog will not get the care it needs, you can take the dog away from the land and keep it safe. You must then tell the dog's owner, or the person in charge of the land, what you have done. You can keep the dog until you are sure it will get the care it needs, or until the dog is dealt with under section 71A.

If no one is at the land when you take the dog, you must leave a notice in a clear place. The dog's owner must pay for the costs of taking care of the dog while it is in your care.

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This page was last updated on

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM374815.

Topics:
Crime and justice > Police and safetyHousing and property > Land use
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14: Power of entry, or

"When can dog control officers enter someone's property to check on dogs?"

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16: Districts in which dog control officer or dog ranger may exercise powers, or

"Where dog control officers or rangers can work and use their powers"

15Power 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:

  2. supply the dog with food, water, or shelter:
    1. enter onto the land or premises from time to time to continue to supply the dog with food, water, or shelter:
      1. seize the dog and remove it from the land or premises.

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

        2. is satisfied that the dog is without access to proper and sufficient food, water, or shelter; and
          1. 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.

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

            2. 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
              1. may retain custody of the dog until—
                1. 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
                  1. the dog is disposed of under section 71A.

                  2. 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.

                  3. 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.

                  4. Repealed
                  Notes
                  • Section 15: substituted, on , by section 7 of the Dog Control Amendment Act 2003 (2003 No 119).
                  • Section 15(3)(a): amended, on , by section 3(1) of the Dog Control Amendment Act 2004 (2004 No 61).
                  • Section 15(3)(b): substituted, on , by section 8(1) of the Dog Control Amendment Act 2006 (2006 No 23).
                  • Section 15(4): amended, on , by section 3(2) of the Dog Control Amendment Act 2004 (2004 No 61).
                  • Section 15(6): repealed, on , by section 8(2) of the Dog Control Amendment Act 2006 (2006 No 23).