Can you shoot an attacking dog

The fact that the attacker was not even a human only further complicates this complex issue. Animal rights activists would argue that a dog is incapable of fully calculating the consequences of its behavior, therefore, a dog should not be subject to being shot for bad behavior. Others might argue that because the dog is not capable of making human decisions, it should not receive the same self-defense safeguard that humans receive, meaning that deadly force should be allowed in any self-defense situation.

The State of Utah is generally not extremely forgiving of dangerous animals. That general theme holds true with state laws regarding using deadly force against a dog. Utah statutes dictate that a person may shoot a dog under a variety of circumstances without being subject to criminal or civil liability.

Any dog that is attacking or even worrying or chasing any other animal may be shot. This means that you may be legally allowed to defend not only yourself but also your animals, with deadly force.

The biting does not even have to have commenced. If you were walking your dog, and a vicious dog approached, and it growled and barked at your dog and chased it down the street; technically if you were carrying a firearm you may be justified in using that firearm to defend your dog. Florida, So. It appears that this on its own would not have garnered an animal cruelty charge. In order for a person to be found justified in using force or deadly force against an animal attack, he or she must meet the following requirements:.

There are some important definitions in these six requirements. You must consider these in deciding if you will use force or deadly force in self-defense against an attacking animal. These definitions can be found in Florida Standard Jury Instruction 3. Furthermore, a person cannot use the defense of necessity if he or she used force or deadly force against the animal, after the danger from the threatened harm had passed. In other words, a person who survives the animal attack cannot go seek revenge against the animal that attacked him or her.

Deciding whether it was necessary and your actions were reasonable will be on a case by case basis. If your actions were found not be necessary because you could have walked back inside your house you could face criminal charges and certainly civil law liability.

Furthermore, if your actions were not reasonable because you could have used some other kind of force that was available to you to prevent the attack you may also find yourself facing criminal or civil liability.

For more information on defending against an animal attack, please watch our video on this subject , originally produced for U. Law Shield. A strong belief that gun owners should be armed and educated is at the center of everything we do. All gun owners should learn about their rights and responsibilities. We speak at seminars throughout the state of Florida.

For a complete schedule visit www. Further, if you have any questions about Florida Gun Law, or any other firearm related questions, visit our website , search our knowledge base, or leave a question for us to answer. David S. In other words, a court order may, in fact, be necessary before the animal can be killed.

Otherwise, it is always unlawful for any person, other than a law enforcement officer, to kill or injure any dog that has a license tag for the current year. The law regarding the self-defense killing of dangerous animals, including wolves and coyotes, is not specifically enumerated. This means a person has no specific right to shoot any animal, other than a dog, in self-defense or the defense of others, even if he or she has an honest and reasonable belief that death or great bodily injury is imminent.

Because no ownership interest is involved, there is no requirement of obtaining a court order prior to the destruction of a wild animal.

However, a permit or hunting license may or may be required, depending on the situation. Birds are highly protected in Michigan, so it is always precarious to shoot them without a permit. If a person ever had occasion to kill a dangerous animal in self-defense, then it would be up to a Department of Natural Resources DNR officer to decide what would happen.

If the DNR finds that the person unreasonably killed the bear or any other wild animal, which basically means the officer does not think the person was really in danger, then the person who killed the animal could be criminally charged with a misdemeanor for doing so with no permit.

If you want to know more about the use of deadly force against animals in Michigan, speak with a DNR officer and, contact a skilled gun attorney that can advise you of your rights. Please do not include any confidential or sensitive information in a contact form, text message, or voicemail. The contact form sends information by non-encrypted email, which is not secure. Submitting a contact form, sending a text message, making a phone call, or leaving a voicemail does not create an attorney-client relationship.