THE news cases often speak of aggressions by dogs generically defined as “molossi” which, when they bite, can seriously injure humans and kill other animals. This is what happened on Saturday 25 February, on the outskirts of Tivoli, in the province of Rome, where a pit bull, who had escaped from his own home, sowed panic in the surroundings. The budget is seven people and a wounded dog, a cat killed and a dog, the pit bull, shot down by the carabinieri who intervened on the spot. But does it make sense to talk about aggressive animals? Which ones are they the most dangerous dogs and what is the responsibility of their masters?
The most dangerous and aggressive dog breeds?
L’Oipa clarifies how first of all there is no list of dogs considered dangerous. On the contrary, he asks the legislator to regulate the possession of certain types of dogs which too often, also due to the fashions of the moment, are purchased by people who are not able to manage them correctly.
The owners, therefore, are the main culprits. Because, as underlined by the Italian National Association of Veterinary Doctors (ANMVI), in the scientific literature in Veterinary Medicine, «the risk of increased aggression cannot be established of a dog on the basis of belonging to a breed or crosses thereof”.
Also, in 2006, the Ministry of Health had issued an ordinance concerning the “protection of public safety from the aggression of dogs”, in which a list of dog breeds considered dangerous.
The “black list”
Subsequent ordinances have since abolished this list due to the relative uncertainty and, above all, the discrimination of races. There ‘blacklist’ of dog breeds considered dangerous, strongly contested by dog experts, was then abolished in 2009, when the Ministry of Health established that «the master is always responsible of the well-being and control of one’s animal, therefore he is liable both civilly and criminally for the damage or injury that he causes to people, animals or things”.
A Pit Bull (Getty Images)
What does the law say
L’Ordinance of 8 August 2022 of the Ministry of Health reiterated the concept. There is an obligation to always and everywhere use the leash of a measure not exceeding mt. 1.50 for dogs taken in urban areas and in places open to the public – without prejudice to dog areas identified by the Municipalities – and to always have the muzzle (rigid or soft) to be applied in case of potential danger, as well as the obligation to entrust one’s pet only to people able to handle it.
Prohibitions for owners
And in any case the training of dogs that enhances their aggression is prohibited and any selection or crossing of dogs with the aim of developing it. It is prohibited to subject dogs to doping and to surgical interventions intended to modify the morphology of a dog (excision of the vocal cords, cutting of the ears, extirpation of nails and teeth, docking of the tail).
Aggressive Dog Registry
“Currently the danger of a dog is determined according to 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 local health veterinary service, which keeps a register of dogs declared aggressive, and are obliged to follow a training course».
The owners of dogs registered in the register must take out a civil liability insurance policy and at the same time apply a leash and muzzle to their pet when they are in urban areas and in places open to the public.
The training course for owners of dangerous dogs
If the episodes of aggression are attributable to inadequate management of the animal, or to particular stimuli that lead the dog to react according to the situation, the emergency is not the dangerous dogs but the owners who don’t know how to educate them. Or, worse, they educate them to be aggressive.
The training course for dogs declared aggressive is organized by the Municipality, together with the veterinary service of the local health authority, with the collaboration of the professional orders of veterinary doctors and animal protection associations. The costs are borne by the owner of the “demanding” dog.
A Rottweiler (Getty Images)
The license of the Municipality of Milan for the “special breeds”
Since February 2020, the Municipality of Milan has made it mandatory to obtain a ‘special dog licence‘, which can be obtained through a specific and free course, dedicated to dog owners who have been responsible for serious injuries and also to owners of 27 dog breeds and their crossbreeds considered “more difficult to manage on the basis of criteria such as physical prowess, bite power, tendency to aggression in the absence of education”.
The Municipal Animal Welfare and Welfare Regulation list includes: American Bulldog, Charplanina Shepherd Dog, Anatolian Shepherd Dog, Central Asian Shepherd Dog, Caucasus Shepherd Dog, Maremma Abruzzese Shepherd, Dog of Serra da Estrela, Dogo Argentino, Fila Brasileiro, Perro da Canapo Majoero, Perro da presa Canario, Perro da presa Mallorquin, Pit Bull, Pit Bull Mastiff, Pit Bull Terrier, Rafeiro do alentejo, Rottweiler, Rhodesian Ridgeback , Tosa Inu American Staffordshire Terrier, Bandog, large sized Molossians not registered in the ENCI-FCI herd books, Blue terrier, Boerboel, Cane Corso, Czechoslovakian wolfdog, Saarloos wolfdog, Italian wolfdog and all crosses deriving from these breeds .
But small dogs are more aggressive
The above list, like all lists of dangerous dogs in general, considers large or medium-large sized animals. It is clear that a pit bull has much greater strength and damage potential than a Chihuahua. Not only that: a large animal that barks loudly seems dangerous, while a small one only appears annoying. In reality, it is dogs weighing less than 9 kilograms, such as dachshunds and Chihuahuas, that are the most aggressive and brawlers, the most responsive to humans. A series of scientific studies have demonstrated this, starting with that of the University of Pennsylvania published in 2008 in the magazine Applied Animal Behavior Science and directed by James Serpell.
The causes? They are not clear. Serpell links the aggression of mini-dogs to fear: “It could be a reaction of small dogs to a world full of giants,” he explains. On the contrary, behaviorist Nicole Drüschler in the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung refers to selection: small dog breeds were in fact bred as hunting dogs, to fight rats, or to guard the courtyard. But elite scholars connect instead the aggression of dogs to the anxiety of their masters: overprotective, inclined to tolerate aggression and to spoil them. Whether big or small.
What to do if your dog is attacked by another
But, to move on to the practical aspects, what to do if our dog is attacked by another? “Immediately take the data of the owner or keeper of the aggressor dog and get help from people present who can testify to what happened and identify the person responsible, even by contacting the local police”, recommends the lawyer Oipa. «This is a recoverable damage because the dog, even if it is a sentient being, is considered as an “asset” forming part of the patrimony and, moreover, one has the right to obtain the reimbursement of veterinary expenses incurred and the necessary treatments. It is therefore necessary to take the dog to the vet for checks, provide for treatment and keep all the relative probative documentation ».
If a person is also injured in the fight, the crime of culpable injury is set up with consequent complaint and compensation of the injured party. In the event of a fight between two or more animals, these must be kept under observation for 10 days so as to verify that there is no possibility of the onset of dangerous pathologies like anger.
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