THE DOG AND THE LAW. 



S6i 



savs that any person corruptly taking anj- 

 monev or reward directly or indirectly under 

 pretence or upon account of aiding any 

 person to recover any dog which shall ha\e 

 been stolen or shall be in the possession of 

 any person except the owner, is guilty of a 

 misdemeanour, and upon con\"iction is liable 

 to imprisonment for eighteen months with 

 or without hard labour. In this connection 

 it is useful to add that the statute 24 and 25 

 \'ict., c. 96, s. 100, enacts that the property 

 in stolen goods reverts to the original owmer 

 upon con\nction of the thief, and he is 

 entitled to recover it even from an innocent 

 purchaser. 



Everj^ dog o\Micr must an- 

 nually take out a licence for 

 each dog he keeps. The licence, which 

 is obtainable at all post-offices at the 

 cost of 7s. 6d., is dated to nm from 

 the hour it is taken out until the fol- 

 lowing 31st December, and no rebate is 

 allowed under any circumstances. The per- 

 son in whose custody or upon whose premises 

 the dog is found will be deemed its owTier 

 until proved otherwise 



The owTiers of certain dogs for certain 

 purposes are, however, exempted from tak- 

 ing out licences, viz. : (i) Dogs under the 

 age of SIX months (30 and 31 Vict., c. 5., s. 10); 

 2) hounds under twelve months old neither 

 used nor hunted with the pack, provided 

 that the Master has taken out proper 

 licences for all hounds entered in the pack 

 used by him (41 and 42 Vict., c. 15, s. 20), 

 the Master of the pack is deemed the owner ; 

 (3) one dog kept and used by a blind person 

 solely for his or her guidance (41 and 42 

 Vict., c. 15, s. 21) ; (4) dogs kept and used 

 solely for the purpose of tending sheep or 

 cattle or in the exercise of the occupation 

 or cal ing of a shepherd. The number of 

 dogs so kept is limited to two, except on 

 farms where over 400 sheep are grazing, in 

 which case a third dog is allowed. If as 

 many as 1,000 sheep are kept a fourth dog 

 is permitted, and for every 500 sheep over 

 and above 1,000 an additional dog up to 

 the number of eight (41 and 42 Vict., c. 15, 

 s. 22). 



To secure this last exemption a declaration 

 must be made by the peison seeking ex- 

 emption on receipt of which a certificate 

 will be issued by the Inland Revenue 

 Commissioners. The Dogs Act, 1906, lays 

 it down with regard to this exemption for 

 shepherds' dogs etc., that " the grant of a 

 certificate imder section 22 of the Customs 

 and Inland Revenue Act, 1878, of exemption 

 from duty in respect of a dog shall require 

 the previous consent in England of a petty 

 sessional court, and in Scotland of the 

 slreriff or sheriff-substitute ha\-ing juris- 

 diction in the place where the dog is kept, 

 but such consent shall not be withheld if 

 the Court is of opinion that the conditions 

 for exemption mentioned in the said section 

 apply in the case of the applicant." 



Muzzling. 



Just as bull baiting, etc., was 



first abolished in " wicked 

 London," so to tiae undoubted discomfiture 

 of countless dogs did the muzzling 

 order first see light in the same place. 

 The Metropolitan Police Act, 1867 (30 and 

 31 Vict., c. 134), enacted : — 



(i) The Commissioner of Police may, 

 if he think fit, issue a notice requiring 

 any dog wliilst in the streets (if not led) 

 to be muzzled. 



(2) Any policeman may take possession 

 of and detain anj^ dog found unmuzzled 

 in the streets until a muzzle be provided, 

 and the expenses of his detention are 

 paid. 



(3) ^^'here the dog wears a colkir bear- 

 ing the address of its owner, notice of its 

 detention shall be sent to the owner. 



(4) Unclaimed dogs may be destroj^ed 

 after three days' detention. 



Under the Contagious Diseases (Animals) 

 Acts, 1878-1894, local authorities (i.e county, 

 borough, or district councils) were em- 

 powered to issue orders regulating the 

 muzzling of dogs in public places and the 

 keeping of dogs under control (otherwise 

 than by muzzhng). Offenders under these 

 Acts are liable to a fine not exceeding 



4'20 



