Control of Horses (Wales) Act 2014
| Year | 2014 |
Control of Horses (Wales) Act 2014
2014 anaw 3
An Act of the National Assembly for Wales to make provision for and in connection with the taking of action in relation to horses which are in public places without lawful authority or which are on other land without consent.
[27 January 2014]
Having been passed by the National Assembly for Wales and having received the assent of Her Majesty, it is enacted as follows:
1 Overview
This Act makes provision for local authorities to seize, impound and dispose of horses which-
(a) are in public places without lawful authority, or
(b) are on other land without the consent of the occupier of the land.
2 Power of local authority to seize horses
(1) A local authority may seize and impound a horse which is on any highway, or in any other public place, in the local authority's area if the local authority has reasonable grounds for believing that the horse is there without lawful authority.
(2) A local authority may seize and impound a horse which is on any other land in the local authority's area if the local authority has reasonable grounds for believing-
(a) in the case of land of which the local authority is the occupier, that the horse is there without the local authority's consent, or
(b) in the case of other land in the local authority's area, that the horse is there without the consent of the occupier of the land and that the occupier consents to the local authority seizing and impounding it.
3 Notices about seizure etc.
(1) A local authority must, within 24 hours of seizing a horse under section 2, place in a conspicuous position at or near the place where it was seized, a written notice-
(a) stating that the horse has been seized and the date and time at which it was seized, and
(b) giving details of how contact can be made with the local authority.
(2) A local authority must, as soon as reasonably practicable after seizing a horse under section 2, take reasonable steps to ascertain who is the owner of the horse.
(3) A local authority must, within 24 hours of seizing a horse under section 2, give a written notice to-
(a) a constable, and
(b) if any person appears to the local authority to be the owner of the horse or to be acting on behalf of the owner in relation to the horse, that person.
(4) Where, within the period of 7 days beginning with that on which a horse is seized under section 2, a local authority ascertains that a person who has not been given a written notice under subsection (3)(b) is the owner of the horse, the local authority must, within 24 hours, give a written notice to that person.
(5) A notice under subsection (3) or (4) must be dated and include-
(a) a brief description of the horse,
(b) a statement of the date, time and place at which the horse was seized, and
(c) details of how contact can be made with the local authority.
(6) A notice under subsection (3)(b) or (4) must also state-
(a) why the recipient appears to the local authority to be the owner of the horse or to be acting on behalf of the owner in relation to the horse, and
(b) the effect of the operation of section 5 in relation to the horse (including when the power conferred by subsection (3) of that section will become available).
(7) A notice under subsection (3)(a) must also state who has been given a notice under subsection (3)(b) in relation to the horse.
4 Costs of seizure etc.
(1) The owner of a horse seized by a local authority under section 2 is liable to pay to the local authority costs reasonably incurred in the seizure and impounding of the horse and in feeding and maintaining it while it is impounded.
(2) The local authority is not required to return the...
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