PORTUGAL’S GOVERNMENT is set to implement a new law stating that a dog attack is a crime for which the animal’s owner can be jailed for 10 years.
A spokesman from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said that the proposal, which has now been sent to parliament for approval, has come as the result of “successive cases of violent attacks towards people by dogs”.
The new law proposes that it will be a criminal offence to promote fights between animals as well as attacks towards people through the negligence or baiting of the animal’s owner.
Currently, a dog owner can be sent to jail, according to the judge’s interpretation of the law, some of whom consider a dog attack as being similar to grievous bodily harm.
The government aims for the law to be clearer and to “tighten the control on dangerous animals and owners’ responsibilities,” said the spokesman.
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