Trespassing dog

[johnp138]

Is it legal to shoot a dog which has strayed onto someones property. The property is in a country village, and the dog got onto the property owners field. The owner of the field has no livestock.

[fredpuli47]

No.It is not. It's the crime of criminal damage to property, the dog,and may be cruelty as well. The dog's owner could also sue in the civil court..

Exceptionally , a farmer is only allowed to shoot a dog which is physically 'worrying' his livestock at the time.That's because the dog can cause livestock to abort ,and cause other harm to them ,which causes loss to the farmer as well as suffering to his animals. So he can then shoot the dog in order to put a stop to or prevent immediate loss .Even a farmer cannot shoot a dog on his property simply because it is there

Incidentally the saying 'a man's best friend is his dog' comes from an old American case where a landowner did shoot a dog which strayed on to his land. The owner sued and , naturally,won.

[spaced]

The dog may be owned by someone and it has run away, or just a stray dog. Surely you would feel stupid if someone came knocking to see if you had found their dog. this is a better way to resolve such a problem than just killing an animal.

If all else fails, tell you friend to invest in better fencing. Again, a better resolution to just shooting an innocent animal.

[Peter Pedant]

Are you the dog owner or the shootist ?

ANyway it is not lawful to shoot the dog just because it is there. It has to be worrying sheep.

If it is a threat, try to keep the dog under control.

IF the dog is dead, go to the police - even better the media. Cue photos, Mr X, doghater.

[Peter Pedant]

There was a case a few years ago

IN testimony the dog owner admitted that the dog had previously been worrying sheep
had in the past returned to the house with blood on its jowls

and STILL took the farmer to court. She lost.

[johnp138]

I am not the owner of the dog or am I the landowner but was visiting the village in Cumbria when I was told of the event by a neighbour.