Western Australian Consolidated Acts Western Australian Consolidated Acts (1) Where an attack by
a dog is shown on the balance of probabilities to have caused injury or damage
a court before which any offence arising out of that attack is heard, or the
Magistrates Court on the application of a local government, an authorised
person or a person specifically authorised by a local government for the
purposes of section 33E, may —
(a)
order the owner to destroy that dog or cause that dog to be destroyed; or
(b)
order that dog to be destroyed by —
(i)
the local government by which, or authorised person by
whom, it was seized or it is detained under section 29; or
(ii)
a person specifically authorised by the court,
and the provisions of
section 40 apply.
(2) A person
specifically authorised by a court under subsection (1)(b)(ii) to destroy
a dog may give effect to the order for destruction.
(3) In addition to the
matters provided for in section 40, a court may, if it makes an order
that a dog is to be destroyed, require the owner of the dog —
(a) to
take, during or within such period as is specified in the order, such action
as the court considers likely to be necessary to —
(i)
prevent, or reduce the likelihood of, that dog causing
injury; or
(ii)
enable effect to be given to the order for destruction;
and
(b) to
pay any costs or expense incurred in relation to the detention or destruction
of the dog,
and an owner of a dog
who does not comply with such a requirement commits an offence.
Penalty: $4 000 and a daily penalty of $400.
(4) If an attack by 2
or more dogs is shown on the balance of probabilities to have caused injury or
damage, both or all of those dogs are to be treated for the purposes of
subsection (1) as having caused that injury or damage even if it is not
possible to show which of those dogs actually caused that injury or damage.
[Section 39 inserted by No. 24 of 1996
s. 12; amended by No. 10 of 1998 s. 29(1); No. 59 of 2004
s. 141.]