# Welfare of Animals Act (Northern Ireland) 2011, Section 3: Responsibility for animals


(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.
(2) In this Act, references to being responsible for an animal include being in charge of it.
(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.
(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 the first mentioned person has actual care and control, is responsible.
(5) For the purposes of this Act, a person does not relinquish responsibility for an animal by reason only of abandoning it.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/nia/2011/16/section/3 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/welfare-of-animals-act-northern-ireland-2011/section-3
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.