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Owners Of Fat Pets Could Be
Jailed
Charles Clover
London
Telegraph
Thursday April 5, 2007
Owners of fat dogs or cats could face prosecution under the Animal
Welfare Act which comes into force tomorrow.
The Act, the biggest overhaul of animal welfare legislation for a
century, creates a new offence of failing in the duty of care towards
a captive animal.
Pet owners can for the first time be guilty of an offence before
an act of cruelty has been committed, for example by overfeeding
their pet.
The Act says a person responsible for an animal must provide it
with a suitable diet, intake of water, environment and housing and
ensure it can behave normally and is without pain or disease.
Behaving normally means that sociable animals, such as dogs and
rabbits, must be provided with companionship, either of their own
species or humans.
Maximum penalties for breach of the new rules include a ban on
owning animals, fines of up to £20,000 or up to 51 weeks in
prison. The Act raises from 12 to 16 the minimum age for buying
a pet and bans pets as prizes for under-16s.
Docking of dogs' tails for cosmetic reasons is banned with exemptions
for "working" dogs used by the police, Armed Forces, search
and rescue and gun dogs.
A vet in England may dock a dog's tail as long as it is no more
than five days old and its owner has provided the following evidence:
the dam of the dog (so the type may be ascertained), a completed
statement by the owner and a shotgun certificate, police identification
or other evidence that the dog will be used as a working dog.
The law will be different in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
In Wales the word breed is used rather than type, which appears
to mean that if a dog is not of a pedigree listed in the regulations
its tail may not be docked. In Scotland there is a separate Act
which bans docking for any reason. In Northern Ireland tail docking
is legal.
The RSPCA said that its inspectors would give written advice to
pet owners in the first instance in the case of an overweight dog.
A date for a return visit would then be given. In the event of obvious
neglect a warning notice would be issued or the owner prosecuted.
In London's Hyde Park yesterday some dog owners were concerned
about the new powers.
Vivien Battarbee, 61, a designer from South Kensington, owner of
Missy, a Parson Jack Russell terrier, said: "I'd be horrified
if I had a knock on the door from a policeman if my dog was overweight.
Jailing would be going too far, but maybe it would be good to remind
some people how to look after a dog."
Kenneth Stern, 78, who was walking Worcester, a Dalmatian, said:
"Convicting people is a bit over the top, but some people simply
do not realise how to take care of their dogs."
INFOWARS:
BECAUSE THERE'S A WAR ON FOR YOUR MIND
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