Anyone who has custody of a dog must prevent the animal from attacking other people or animals. The dog must always have a leash and possibly a muzzle.
Anyone who has a dog in custody must follow the rule of always wearing a leash, but also possibly a muzzle , in the presence of third parties. This is the recent ruling of the Court of Cassation. A precaution to prevent the animal from attacking people or other animals. You must always lead on a leash even in the open countryside, if third parties are present. The new sentence issued is due to the case of aggression by two dogs against a lady. The woman was walking like them in the open countryside.
Here the judges had already sentenced the two owners of the attacking animals (a man and a woman). The offense is minor culpable bodily harm . The holders appealed and defended themselves, but the Cassation considered all the reasons for their appeal unfounded, confirming the sentence. Here are the points of the sentence :
- the obligation to keep a dog “arises whenever there is a relationship of simple detention, even if only material and de facto, between a certain subject and an animal, since a property relationship in the civil sense is not necessary”
- the woman, even if she was at a great distance from the animals and was unable to intervene to block them, constitutes a profile of guilt
- what matters is the presence of people when the dogs are released from the leash and muzzle
- aggression by a dog, even if harmless, is not an unpredictable event
- the behavior of the victim does not exclude the responsibility of the owner of the aggressor animal. In some cases it may reduce the degree of said liability
Everything shows how extensive is the responsibility of those who decide to have an animal in custody . If the law establishes the leash obligation with attention to urban areas, who owns the dog must also use it in the open countryside. He must put it in the presence of other people or animals to avoid any risk of aggression. Same thing goes for the muzzle.
- The leash must always be worn, if there are other people or animals: the sentence of the Cassation (kodami.it)
