# The Dogs (Northern Ireland) Order 1983, Article 22: Penalty for a dog straying

Extent: N.I.

(1) Where any dog strays the keeper of the dog and, if it is in the charge of a person other than its keeper, that person also shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £200.
(2) The keeper of a dog shall not be convicted of an offence under this Article if he proves that at the time when the dog strayed it was in the charge of some other person whom he reasonably believed to be a fit and proper person to be in charge of the dog.
(3) For the purposes of this Article and Article 23, a dog—
(a) which is—
(i) off land owned or occupied by the keeper of the dog and, if the keeper of the dog is a person other than its owner, off land owned or occupied by its owner also; or
(ii) off other land on which it may be by permission of the owner or occupier of that land; and
(b) which is unaccompanied by any person;
shall be treated as a stray dog.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/nisi/1983/764/article/22 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/dogs-northern-ireland-order-1983/article-22
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.