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Animal Welfare Act 1999

Offences - Further provisions relating to offences

169: Court may disqualify person from owning or exercising authority in respect of animals

You could also call this:

"Courts can ban people from owning animals if they hurt them"

If you are found guilty of hurting animals, the court can stop you from owning animals. The court can do this if you break rules in certain parts of the Animal Welfare Act, like Part 1 or 2, or if you break other specific rules. The court can also stop you from owning animals if you are charged with hurting animals and are found unfit to stand trial under the Criminal Procedure (Mentally Impaired Persons) Act 2003.

If the court decides to stop you from owning animals, they can choose how long this will last. They can stop you from owning a specific type of animal or all animals. When the court is making this decision, they think about why the Animal Welfare Act exists, how serious your actions were, and what kind of person you are.

The court also thinks about how many animals were hurt, how often you hurt them, and what you have done in the past. They can set a minimum time that you are not allowed to own animals. The court makes these decisions to help keep animals safe.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM51920.

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168A: Burden of proof of reasonable excuse, or

"You must prove you had a good reason for what you did if charged with an animal welfare offence."

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169A: Disqualified person may apply to court for removal or variation of disqualification, or

"You can ask a court to lift or change a ban on you if you've been disqualified from having animals."

Part 8Offences
Further provisions relating to offences

169Court may disqualify person from owning or exercising authority in respect of animals

  1. This section applies if a person is convicted of an offence against—

  2. any section in Part 1 or 2; or
    1. section 152(1); or
      1. section 169B(1).

        1. This section also applies if a person is charged with an offence against any enactment specified in subsection (1) and is found unfit to stand trial (under the Criminal Procedure (Mentally Impaired Persons) Act 2003).

        2. If this section applies in relation to a person, the court may (in addition to or in substitution for any other penalty or order) make an order disqualifying that person for any period that it thinks fit from being the owner of, or exercising authority over, or being the person in charge of,—

        3. an animal or animals of a particular kind or description; or
          1. animals generally.

            1. In considering whether to make an order under subsection (3), the court must have regard to—

            2. the purposes of Parts 1 and 2; and
              1. the maximum penalty specified for the charge from which the conviction arose; and
                1. the seriousness of the offending, including (without limitation) the nature and gravity of the harm, the number of animals involved, and the frequency of the offending; and
                  1. the character of the person; and
                    1. the previous offending history (if any) of the person; and
                      1. any other circumstances of the case.

                        1. In making an order under subsection (3), the court may also specify a minimum disqualification period.

                        Notes
                        • Section 169: replaced, on , by section 60 of the Animal Welfare Amendment Act (No 2) 2015 (2015 No 49).