Excessive Dog Barking, District Court Process

waynescales1

Yes, yet another dog barking thread. I've read through many of the previous threads on this subject but haven't quite found the information I'm looking for.

It's often asked by people with this problem: "What can I do if I've spoken to the neighbour/dog owner about the noise and the dog is still barking and the problem isn't resolved?" As we can see from previous posts and the Citizen's Information website:

Excessive dog barking that causes a nuisance is an offence. You may be able to solve such problems by talking to the dog owner.

If you don’t get a satisfactory response, you may complain to the District Court and seek a hearing. When you have received a court date, you must inform the dog owner of your complaint by using the form prescribed for this purpose under Section 25 of the Control of Dogs Act 1986. These forms are available from the District Courts and from local authorities.

The court may make an order requiring the occupier of the premises in which the dog is kept to abate the nuisance by exercising due control over a dog. The court may limit the number of dogs that can be kept on a premises or may direct that a dog be delivered to a dog warden to be dealt with as unwanted.

So, if all else fails, inform your neighbour of your intention to make a complaint to the District Court, attend the hearing and hope the judge makes an order in your favour.

I'm considering this option myself (extreme as it is) and I'd be interested in hearing from anybody who has actually been through or attended one of these hearings. I'd like to know how the hearing went.

What kinds of preparations / evidence gathering was done prior to the hearing. What kinds of questions did the judge ask or what were their expectations regarding proof of the dog's nuisance barking.

Did the neighbour attend? Did they bring a solicitor? What kinds of things should one be prepared for that they might say in their defence?

What was the outcome? I've heard cases like these are rarely decided on at the first hearing. Did the judge rule in your favour? What influenced the judge's decision.

Regarding evidence, I've thought of the obvious things like a diary of the dog's barking times, audio / video evidence, decibel meter recordings etc. Evidence of having asked the neighbour to prevent the noise also. But I'd be very interested to hear from someone who has actually been to a hearing and can talk about the kinds of evidence that are required / admissible.

Apologies for all the questions and thanks for reading.

Graces7

As a veteran of dogs, crowbangers etc... Usually the "promise" of court action in writing will stop the noise . I never had to send for for forms even

Your list of evidence is impressive and perfect