Page:Halsbury Laws of England v1 1907.pdf/626

 ;

Animals.

404 Sect.

By

2.

Statute.

Burden

of

proof as to dog's age.

house or premises any dog is found or seen is to be deemed to be the person who keeps such dog, unless the contrary be proved and the owner or master of hounds is to be deemed to be the person keeping the same (o). Upon the hearing of an information for a penalty for keeping a dog without a licence, the proof of the age of the dog lies upon the defendant (p) The offence is not purged by taking out a licence after discovery of the fact that a dog is being kept without a licence (q).

.

Hound whelps.

Blind persons' dogs exempt.

872. No licence is required in respect of any hound under the age of twelve months which has never been entered in, or used with, any pack of hounds where the owner or master has taken out proper licences for all the hounds entered in any pack by him (r) nor for a dog kept and used solely by a blind person for his or her guidance (s) nor for dogs kept and used solely for the purpose of tending sheep or cattle on a farm or by a shepherd in the exercise of his calling. The occupier of a sheep farm on uninclosed land may, on filling up a declaration, with the previous consent of a petty sessional court (t), obtain a certificate of exemption for not more than two dogs if he owns four hundred sheep or less on uninclosed land, or for three dogs if he owns more than four hundred and if his sheep number one thousand, then for a fourth dog and for every five hundred sheep over one thousand for an additional dog. Provided that he cannot obtain exemption in respect of more than eight dogs kept on the farm {u).

Shepherds'





Game licence.

873. Every person, before he uses any dog, gun, or any other means whatever for taking, killing, or pursuing any game, or any woodcock, snipe, quail or landrail, or any coney or deer, must take (o)

(p) Iq) (?•)

Licences Act, 1867 (30

&

31 Yict.

c. 5), s. 8.

Customs and Inland Eevenue Act, 1878

(41

&

42 Yict.

Strangeways (1877), 3 C. P. D. 105. Customs and Inland Eevenue Act, 1878 (41 & 42 Yict. Campbell

(s)

Ibid.,

{t)

This

1906. (r.

Dog

is

s.

c. 15), s. 19.

v.

15), s. 20.

21.

added by the Dogs Act, 1906, s. 5, and compare the Dogs Act Eules, is to be the Court having jurisdiction where the dog is kept

The Court

1).

Customs and Inland Eevenue Act, 1878 (41 & 42 Yict. c. 15), s. 22, It is an offence under this section to deliver an untrue declaration, and to refuse to produce a certificate. Upon a summons for keeping a dog without a licence, a certificate is a defence, even if wrongfully obtained, and the burden of proof is upon the prosecution to show that the dog kept is not a sheep or cattle dog {James v. Nicholas (1886), 50 J. P. 292), but a declaration is not a defence {Graham v. Haig (1894), 58 J. P. 835). The justices must convict even if they (u)

think the defendant entitled to a certificate (Phillips v. Evans, [1896] 1 Q,. B. As to a previous conviction and reduction of fine, see Murray v. Thompson 305). (1888), 22 Q. B. D. 142. The result of s. 22 and the Dogs Act Eules, 1906, is practically to transfer the power of exemption from the Inland Eevenue authorities to the magistrates. In the absence of opposition, the duty of the magistrates to give their consent appears to be merely ministerial. They cannot require the attendance of the applicant unless the application is opposed and the Court considers his appearance necessary. The " and " in s. 5 (2) of the Act and r. 5 appears to be conjunctive; so that in the absence of opposition they cannot require appearance even if they consider it necessary. No fees are payable under the Act but under r. 10 the Court may allow other just and reasonable costs in a contested case.