Webb v Chief Constable of Avon and Somerset Constabulary
| Jurisdiction | England & Wales |
| Judge | Lord Justice Beatson,Mrs Justice Whipple |
| Judgment Date | 20 December 2017 |
| Neutral Citation | [2017] EWHC 3311 (Admin) |
| Court | Queen's Bench Division (Administrative Court) |
| Date | 20 December 2017 |
[2017] EWHC 3311 (Admin)
Before Lord Justice Beatson and Mrs Justice Whipple
QUEEN'S BENCH DIVISION
Only a person who was the "owner" or "for the time being in charge of" a dog of a dangerous type could apply for a certificate of exemption protecting the animal from being made the subject of a destruction order.
The Divisional Court so held when allowing an appeal by way of case stated of the dog owner, Joshua Webb, against the decision of Bristol Crown Court (Recorder Maitland and lay justices) on August 11, 2016, to make a contingent destruction order under section 4B of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 (as inserted by section 3 of the Dangerous Dogs (Amendment) Act 1997 and amended by section 107 of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014) on the application of the Chief Constable of Avon and Somerset Constabulary. The Secretary of State for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs intervened in the appeal.
Section 4B(2A) of the 1991 act, as amended, provides: "... when deciding whether a dog would constitute a danger to public safety, the justice or sheriff (a) must consider (i) the temperament of the dog and its past behaviour, and (ii) whether the owner of the dog, or the person for the time being in charge of it, is a fit and proper person to be in charge of the dog, and (b) may consider any other relevant circumstances."
Ms Cathryn McGahey, QC, and Ms Pamela Rose for the appellant; Mr Mark Ley-Morgan and Mr Aaron Moss for the chief constable; Mr Ned Westaway for the secretary of state.
Lord Justice Beatson, giving the judgment of the court to which both members had contributed, said that the appellant was the owner of a dog of a breed prohibited under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991. He had obtained an exemption certificate subject to a number of conditions, including that the dog was insured and kept at his address.
The appellant went to Australia and placed the dog in boarding kennels. He subsequently decided to remain permanently in Australia. While at the kennels the dog was looked after by a dog walker and her daughter. The dog's insurance lapsed and was not renewed and, as a result of that and of the dog not being kept at the appellant's address, two conditions of the exemption certificate were breached.
The police applied to the magistrates' court for an order that the dog be destroyed under section 4B of the 1991 act...
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