Stopped, a pit bull kills a dog and injures a woman: owner reported. Oipa: “Now a law to regulate their ownership: too many people choose dogs they don’t know how to handle”

The soldiers of the Carabinieri Forestry Station of Montegiorgio (Fermo) managed to identify the owner of a pit bull who, having escaped from custody, bit a small dog while walking with its owner, killing it.

Failure to keep and mishandle animals

In an attempt to rescue the dog, the woman was also injured and had to seek medical treatment at the health center of Sant’Elpidio a Mare. Based on the facts ascertained, the military accuses the owner of the pit bull of failing to keep and mismanage animals, art. 672 of the Criminal Code, and wrote a note to the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Fermo. The owner of the pitbull now risks criminal proceedings for personal injury, but is subject to a lawsuit.

Oipa’s request

The International Animal Protection Organization (Oipa) intervenes on the issue, already the third news story in recent months, asking the legislator to regulate the detention of certain types of dogs which are too often chosen by people who are not able to manage them correctly . At a local level, some Municipalities, such as that of Milan, have regulated the matter by providing for the granting of licenses for the keeping of certain breeds or similar breeds.

Dog management

How to manage a so-called “dangerous” dog and what does the law say about their management? Oipa responds, clarifying that first of all there is no list of dogs considered “dangerous”. In 2006 the Ministry of Health issued an ordinance regarding the “protection of public safety from dog aggression”, which included a list of dog breeds considered dangerous. Subsequent ordinances then abolished this list due to the relative uncertainty and, above all, discrimination between races.

Cases of danger

“Currently, the dangerousness of a dog is determined based on specific facts,” explains the lawyer Claudia Taccani, head of the Oipa Legal Office. «In the event of a bite or fight between dogs, in fact, the dog and its owner are reported to the ASL veterinary service, which keeps a register of dogs declared aggressive, and are obliged to follow a training course. The course is organized by the Municipality, together with the veterinary service of the local health authority, making use of the collaboration of the professional associations of veterinary doctors and animal protection associations. The expenses are borne by the owner of the “challenging” dog. In case of serious danger, the obligation to take out an insurance policy and the obligation to use a leash and muzzle in the streets and in places open to the public are triggered.”

“Conscious adoptions”

“Our Association has been engaged, for years, in activities to raise people’s awareness of respect for animals”, explains the lawyer Taccani, “including the organization of information campaigns useful in the thoughtful choice of adopting a dog (or other pet) and in its correct management, precisely to avoid situations of abandonment, abandonment in a kennel facility or legal liability for damage caused by animals”. And in this regard, concludes the lawyer, “Oipa Italia participated in a tender by the Municipality of Rome with the “Aware Adoptions” project, whose activities were carried out between September and December 2023, also creating an information booklet entitled A life together .