By Jeremy Sollars
The Southern Downs Regional Council will give its animal control officers the power to forcibly seize – and euthanise – problem dogs and other animals if their owners refuse to comply with council orders, following complaints from neighbours and other community members.
At the November council meeting held last week in Stanthorpe, councillors voted in favour of authorising officers to issue ‘removal notices’ to the owners of problem animals as a ‘last resort’ in response to compliance failure.
The most common causes of animal complaints relate to barking and roaming dogs, along with excessive numbers of animals on a property.
A report to the councillors states that a ‘removal notice’ “may require the owner to destroy the animal, or permanently remove the animal from a specified area”.
“Furthermore, if the owner fails to comply with a removal notice, an authorised person may seize the animal and dispose of the animal (by sale, euthanasia or other means),” the report states.
“In order to seize an animal, an authorised person must first gain entry to the property when the owner or occupier of the property has not given their permission to enter the property.
“An authorised person may enter a property in accordance with a warrant issued by a magistrate under section 130 of the Local Government Act 2009.
“Once entry to the property is gained, an authorised person can then seize an animal under the Local Law.
“A magistrate may only issue a warrant if satisfied ‘that there are reasonable grounds for suspecting that there is a particular thing or activity that may provide evidence of an offence against a Local Government Act’.”
“In cases such as excessive numbers of animals, it is a relatively simple task to provide sufficient evidence that an offence may be occurring.
“However, in the case of barking dogs it is much more difficult to prove an offence even if council has been receiving complaints over an extended period of time.
“If an owner of animal receives a removal notice, and fails to comply with that notice, if the animal remains on the property that is evidence that the owner has committed an offence.
“It is expected that removal notices will be issued infrequently, and only if compliance notices and Penalty Infringement Notices (PINs) prove unsuccessful.”
