Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, Sections 1 and 3

Section three, keeping dogs under proper control.

Section 3 of the Dangerous Dogs Act makes it an offence for a dog to be dangerously out of control in any place in England or Wales, whether public or private, and it places the responsibility on both the owner of the dog as well as who has control of it at the time.

This means that liability is not limited to the legal owner.

For example, if someone is walking a friend's dog when it becomes dangerously out of control, both individuals may potentially be considered depending on the circumstances, even if no one is injured.

So if dangerously out of control doesn't mean causing injury, what does it mean? Well, a dog is considered dangerously out of control if there are grounds for someone to reasonably fear that it will injure them or another person.

It does not need to be proven that a dog actually bit or attacked someone As long as a dog's behaviour is such that a reasonable person would fear being injured, the offence then may be complete.

However, where the dog does injure a person, or an assistance dog, the offence becomes an aggravated offence, showing the legislation's aim of preventing attacks before serious harm occurs, rather than only punishing incidents after someone has been injured.