Australian Capital Territory Current Acts Australian Capital Territory Current Acts(1) A person commits an offence if—
(a) the person carries a dog in or on a moving vehicle on a road or road related area; and
(b) the dog is not restrained in a way that—
(i) prevents the dog from moving around, out of or off the vehicle; and
(ii) protects the dog from injury when in or on the vehicle.
Maximum penalty: 20 penalty units.
Note 1 It is an offence to confine a dog in or on a vehicle if the confinement causes, or is likely to cause the dog injury, pain, stress or death (see s 9 (4)).
Note 2 The Road Transport (Public Passenger Services) Regulation 2002
contains offences about confining animals (other than assistance animals) travelling in light rail vehicles (see that regulation
, s 70AAD) and bookable vehicles (see that regulation
, s 221W and s 227).
(2) This section does not apply—
(a) if the dog—
(i) is an assistance animal, or is being trained or assessed as, an assistance animal; and
(ii) is in the vehicle; or
(b) if the dog is being used to work livestock; or
(c) to a circumstance prescribed by regulation.
Note The defendant has an evidential burden in relation to the matters mentioned in s (2) (see Criminal Code
, s 58).
(3) An offence against this section is a strict liability offence.
(4) In this section:
"assistance animal"—see the Discrimination Act 1991
, section 5AA (3).
"public passenger vehicle"—see the Road Transport (Public Passenger Services) Act 2001
, dictionary.
"restrain", a dog in relation to a vehicle, means—
(a) using a harness or similar device to secure the dog to the vehicle; or
(b) putting the dog in an enclosure in or on the vehicle.
"road"—see the Road Transport (Safety and Traffic Management) Act 1999
, dictionary.
"road-related area"—see the Road Transport (Safety and Traffic Management) Act 1999
, dictionary.
"vehicle" does not include a public passenger vehicle.