S.I. No. 306/1985:

POUNDS REGULATIONS, 1985.

POUNDS REGULATIONS, 1985.

I, MICHAEL NOONAN, Minister for Justice, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by Section 8 of the Pounds (Provision and Maintenance) Act, 1935 (No. 17 of 1935 as amended by the Animals Act, 1985 (No. 11 of 1985 ), hereby make the following Regulations:

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Pounds regulations, 1985.

2. These Regulations shall come into operation on the 21st day of September, 1985.

3. The Pounds Regulations, 1938 to 1984, are hereby revoked.

4. The Interpretation Act, 1937 (No. 38 of 1937), applies to these Regulations.

5. (1) In these Regulations--

"impounding", except in Regulation 7, means impounding in a pound provided under the Pounds (Provision and Maintenance), Act, 1935, and cognate words shall be construed accordingly;

"rates of trespass" means rates of trespass payable under section 20 of the Summary Jurisdiction (Ireland) Act, 1851.

(2) In these Regulations, except in Regulation 10(2), a reference in any Regulation to a local authority is a reference to the local authority in whose functional area the pound referred to in that Regulation is situated.

6. Every pound-keeper shall carry out the following duties:--

( a ) he shall take all steps reasonably necessary for safeguarding the security of the pound and shall notify the local authority and the County Registrar for the county in which the pound is situated of the repairs which from time to time become necessary in respect of such pound;

( b ) he shall keep the pound in proper sanitary condition;

( c ) he shall take all steps reasonably necessary to preserve the condition of animals and chattels impounded in the pound and, in particular, shall keep such animals and chattels properly sheltered and provide such animals with sufficient proper food and water;

( d ) he shall keep a record (in a book to be supplied by the local authority), in the form set out in the First Schedule to these Regulations, of the animals and chattels impounded in the pound and of the pound fees under these Regulations and the trespass rates, received by him as pound-keeper.

7. (1) An animal or chattel shall not be impounded in any place other than the nearest pound provided by a local authority under the Pounds (Provision and Maintenance) Act, 1935 , except where an assault is threatened or made on the person impounding the animal or where a rescue of the animal or chattel is threatened or attempted and, in either case, the impounding elsewhere of such animal or chattel is reasonably necessary for the detention of the animal or chattel, the safety of that person, animal or chattel or the health of the animal.

(2) This Regulation does not apply in relation to the impounding of an animal in a private pound under section 5 of the Animals Act, 1985 , or the impounding of a dog under any provision relating to the control of dogs, or in cases of distress for rent or rates and does not affect or restrict the operation of section 9 of the Enforcement of Court Orders Act, 1926 .

8. (1) A person impounding an animal shall, as soon as possible after such impounding, notify the owner of the animal (where such owner is known) and the officer in charge of the Garda Síochána station nearest to the pound, of such impounding, describing the animal, stating where it was found and where it is impounded.

(2) Whenever an animal is impounded, the pound-keeper shall, as soon as possible after such impounding, cause a notice to be posted in a conspicuous position at the pound and at the Garda Siochana station nearest to the pound, describing the animal and stating where it was found and where it is impounded.

(3) A notice under this Regulation shall be kept posted in accordance with paragraph (2) of this Regulation until the impounded animal is returned to its owner or is otherwise disposed of from the pound in accordance with these Regulations.

9. (1) At any time before an impounded animal is disposed of from the pound in accordance with these Regulations, the owner of the animal may, subject to paragraph (2) of this Regulation, recover the animal from the pound on payment to the pound-keeper of the amount due for pound fees and any rates of trespass.

(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1) of this Regulation, the pound-keeper may, with the consent of the County Registrar, refuse to release any animal impounded under the Animals Act, 1985 , if he is not satisfied that adequate accommodation and sustenance will be provided for the animal following such release.

10. (1) A pound-keeper shall be entitled to demand and receive from the person by whom any animal or chattel is impounded in the pound, or from the owner of such animal or chattel, if and when such animal or chattel is released to such owner, the appropriate pound fee specified in the Second Schedule to these Regulations, as well as any rates of trespass.

(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1) of this Regulation, where an animal is impounded in a pound by a member of the Garda Siochana, the pound-keeper shall not be entitled to demand a pound fee from such member, but in lieu thereof may demand and receive such fee from the local authority in whose functional area such animal was found straying or trespassing.

(3) Pound fees received under these Regulations shall cover impounding and care of chattels and, in the case of animals, the care and sustenance of and attendance on the animals, as well as any other expenses incurred by the pound-keeper in relation to impounding the animals, other than the cost of transporting the animals to the pound.

(4) Every pound-keeper shall keep a copy of the Second Schedule to these Regulations affixed in a prominent position at or near his pound.

11. If the services of a veterinary surgeon are required for an animal before it is disposed of from a pound in accordance with these Regulations, the pound-keeper may engage a veterinary surgeon to attend the animal and the local authority shall pay the veterinary surgeon for such services.

12. (1) ( a ) Subject to Regulation 9 of these Regulations, in a case to which this Regulation applies, an impounded animal may be sold pursuant to an order of the local authority at any time after the expiration of three days from the time that a notice relating to the animal was posted in accordance with Regulation 8 of these Regulations.

( b ) Such sale may be carried out at a market or by way of public auction or, where the seller is of opinion that a sale at a market or by public auction would be abortive or inappropriate, in any other manner whatsoever.

(2) This Regulation shall apply in the following cases:

( a ) where before the date of the sale the local authority have not been able to ascertain who the owner of the impounded animal is, or have not been able to establish the address of such owner, or

( b ) where the owner of the animal fails, on request by the pound-keeper, to pay the amount due for pound fees and rates of trespass, or to remove the animal from the pound, or

( c ) where the pound-keeper, acting in accordance with paragraph (2) of Regulation 9, refuses to release the animal from the pound.

13. (1) Subject to paragraph (2) of this Regulation, where it is proposed to sell an impounded animal under Regulation 12 of these Regulations, the pound-keeper shall, as soon as convenient, cause a notice describing the animal and stating where it was found, where it is impounded and the time and place of the proposed sale, to be posted in a conspicuous position--

( a ) at the Garda Station nearest to the pound, and

( b ) where the animal is to be sold otherwise than at a market, at the place where it is to be sold.

(2) In any case where it is proposed to sell an impounded animal under Regulation 12 of these Regulations otherwise than at a market or by way of public auction, a reference to the time and place of the proposed sale may be omitted from the notice provided for in paragraph (1) of this Regulation.

(3) A notice under this Regulation shall be kept posted in accordance with paragraph (1) of this Regulation until the animal has been sold or until the local authority decides that the sale is abortive.

14. (1) Where the sale of an animal under Regulation 12 of these Regulations fails or where, in the opinion of a veterinary surgeon engaged under Regulation 11 of these Regulations, an impounded animal is in such a condition that it would be cruel to keep it alive, the local authority may arrange for the destruction and disposal of the animal.

(2) The destruction of an animal under this Regulation shall be carried out in as humane a manner as possible and in the presence of a member of the Garda Siochana.

15. Where an animal has been sold under Regulation 12 of these Regulations, the proceeds of the sale shall be disposed of as follows:

( a ) the local authority shall retain out of the proceeds of sale an amount equivalent to the following costs and expenses and shall retain the whole of the proceeds of sale where these are less than the amount of such costs and expenses:

(i) pound fees and rates of trespass payable in respect of the animal, and

(ii) any expenses incurred by the local authority in relation to the sale of the animal under Regulation 12;

( b ) any balance remaining after paragraph (a) of this Regulation has been complied with shall be remitted to the owner of the animal where the local authority are aware of the name and address of such owner at the date of the sale or ascertain them within one month from that date; but otherwise such balance shall be retained by the local authority;

( c ) any balance retained by a local authority under paragraph (b) of this Regulation shall be applied by them towards the maintenance of the pound.

16. Where an impounded animal is disposed of from a pound in accordance with these Regulations, otherwise than through recovery by the owner in accordance with Regulation 9 of these Regulations, the following amounts shall, in so far as they have not been met by retention out of the proceeds of a sale in accordance with Regulation 15 of these Regulations, be recoverable by the local authority against the owner of the animal as a simple contract debt in any court of competent jurisdiction:

( a ) pound fees and rates of trespass payable in respect of the animal, and

( b ) any expenses incurred by the local authority in relation to the sale of the animal under Regulation 12 of these Regulations or in relation to the destruction and disposal of the animal under Regulation 14 of these Regulations.

FIRST SCHEDULE

POUNDS REGULATIONS, 1985

SECOND SCHEDULE

POUND-KEEPER'S FEES

GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 16th day of September, 1985.

MICHAEL NOONAN,

Minister for Justice.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

These Regulations come into operation on the 21st of September, 1985. They revoke the Pounds Regulations, 1938 to 1984, and restate them in amended form.