Dog Control Legislation – Dogs (Northern Ireland) Order 2011

The Dogs Order was amended in 2011. The changes are significant.  It is vital that ALL dog owners understand and comply with the revised legislation.

Dog Control

Following the introduction of the Dogs (Northern Ireland) Order 1983, dogs were required to be licensed and were prohibited from straying, attacking people or livestock and their owners prosecuted or fined for these offences along with allowing their dog(s) to foul in public places. These requirements and offences are still in place but the recently enacted Dogs (Amendment) Act (Northern Ireland) 2011 have made some changes to keeping dogs and the requirements of responsible dog ownership.

Licensing

As before, all dogs (apart from a few exemption, see below) are required to be licensed by the keeper of the dogs. The keeper must be over 16 years old and not been disqualified from keeping dogs under Welfare of Animals Legislation.

View full details including updated licence costs here.