California is a state that considers dog attack cases with great seriousness. Here, the dog owners will be responsible for the harm their dog commits even from the first time. Hence, dog owners should be really careful to protect other people and animals from the attack of their dogs.
The law here permits other people to kill a dog if it is viscous and found to create a threat to the safety of other people’s life or property. In normal circumstances, a person will have to compensate if he/she kills another person’s dog. Based on the rules and regulations in California, animals are considered as property just like any other property. Hence, if a person kills an animal that is owned by another, he will have to compensate for the owner’s loss. A dog owner can file a lawsuit in the court with the help of a dog bite attorney if his/her dog was illegally killed by someone else.
However, killing a dog is considered legal in some circumstances which are mentioned below.
Killing A Dog To Protect People
Killing an animal without justification is considered as a criminal activity. However, if it was for self-defense or protecting the lives of other people, then this activity can be justified. In this situation, you will be not be punished by the court and you won’t have to pay compensation. But you have to prove that killing the dog was necessary in that particular circumstance for saving your or other people’s lives. You can seek the help of a dog bite lawyer to prove your innocence if you killed the dog for self-defense.
Killing The Dog For Protecting The Livestock
Farmers or other people have the right to kill a dog, if it chases, harasses or injures their livestock or domestic animals. This activity will be considered legal by the law.
Killing A Dog Based On The Past Behavior
In California, the public is not permitted to kill another person’s dog based on past behavior. However, there are some exceptions to this law. The law in California provides the right for the public to kill an animal that is “known as dangerous to life, limb, or property”. However, the charged party must be able to prove this exception.
Government officials have the right to kill a dog based on its past behavior if the government follows legal procedures. The government should give the owner notice and the chance to challenge the proposed action of the government before killing the dog. A dog owner can seek the help of a dog bite attorney for challenging the government against killing the dog.