23.—(1) The Director‑General may give a direction to the owner of a cat or dog to produce the cat or dog for examination or observation at an animal infirmary within 7 days after the date the direction was given.
(2) The owner of a cat or dog who is given a direction by the Director‑General under paragraph (1) must comply with the direction.
(3) If the owner mentioned in paragraph (1) does not comply with a direction given under that paragraph, the Director‑General may impound the cat or dog (as the case may be), and produce the cat or dog (as the case may be) for examination or observation at an animal infirmary.
(4) A cat or dog produced for examination or observation at an animal infirmary may be —
(a)
treated as needed or until the cat or dog (as the case may be) is cured;
(b)
subject to paragraph (5), released to its owner after treatment, if any; or
(c)
destroyed at the Director‑General’s discretion, if the veterinary surgeon attending to the cat or dog considers its condition to be incurable or that the keeping of the cat or dog entails suffering amounting to cruelty to the cat or dog.
(5) If a cat or dog is impounded by the Director‑General under paragraph (3), the Director‑General may, instead of releasing the cat or dog (as the case may be) to its owner under paragraph (4)(b), dispose of it in any manner the Director‑General thinks fit.