An Act to provide for the impounding of certain animals, motor vehicles and other things; to provide for their release or disposal; to provide for related matters; and to repeal the Impounding Act 1898 and certain other enactments.
This Act may be cited as the Impounding Act 1993.
This Act commences on a day or days to be appointed by proclamation.
The objects of this Act are—
(a) to empower authorised persons to impound and deal with animals and articles in public places and places owned or under the control of certain public authorities if, in the case of animals, they are unattended or trespassing or, in the case of articles, they have been abandoned or left unattended, and
(b) to empower occupiers of private land to impound and deal with animals trespassing on their land, and
(c) to provide for the release of impounded animals and articles that are claimed by their owners, and
(d) to provide for the disposal of impounded animals and articles that are not claimed by their owners and, if they are disposed of by sale, to provide for the disposal of the proceeds of sale.
Expressions used in this Act (or in a particular provision of this Act) which are defined in the dictionary at the end of this Act have the meanings set out in the dictionary.
Impounding officers can impound certain animals and articles, as provided by this Act.
Occupiers of private land can impound certain animals, as provided by this Act.
A police officer has and may exercise the powers of any impounding officer (as if he or she had been appointed as an impounding officer by each impounding authority). This does not make a police officer subject to the direction or control of an impounding authority.
Impounding officers are persons appointed as impounding officers by impounding authorities. See the definitions of
See the definition of
An impounding officer may impound something under this Act only in the area of operations of the impounding officer.
This Act does not confer power on an impounding officer to enter a place that the officer could not otherwise lawfully enter.
Nothing in this Act prevents an impounding officer from entering private land at the invitation of the occupier, so long as it is within his or her “area of operations”.
See the definition of
A dog cannot be impounded under this Act unless…