{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/animal-welfare-act-2006/section-3",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/animal-welfare-act-2006/section-3.json",
  "legislation": "ukpga/2006/45",
  "legislation_title": "Animal Welfare Act 2006",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/animal-welfare-act-2006",
  "path": "section/3",
  "kind": "section",
  "number": "3",
  "heading": "Responsibility for animals",
  "text": "(1) In this Act, references to a person responsible for an animal are to a person responsible for an animal whether on a permanent or temporary basis.\n(2) In this Act, references to being responsible for an animal include being in charge of it.\n(3) For the purposes of this Act, a person who owns an animal shall always be regarded as being a person who is responsible for it.\n(4) For the purposes of this Act, a person shall be treated as responsible for any animal for which a person under the age of 16 years of whom he has actual care and control is responsible.",
  "extent": null,
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "I",
      "label": "I1",
      "text": "S. 3 in force at 27.3.2007 for W. by S.I. 2007/1030, art. 2(1)(a)"
    },
    {
      "type": "I",
      "label": "I2",
      "text": "S. 3 in force at 6.4.2007 for E. by S.I. 2007/499, art. 2(2)(a)"
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/45/section/3",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T09:13:44.862642+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}