Hunters and Citizens warned, the incessant barking of one's faithful auxiliary can cost dearly. Cassation sentences bosses to two months in prison.
ROME - If the dog barks at night it is better, for the owner, to get out of bed immediately and appease the agitated four-legged before its howl - as in the '101 Dalmatians' - spreads and bounces from house to house for the emulation effect of other dogs regardless of waking up even the 'human friends' who stay in the neighborhood.
The advice comes from the Supreme Court, which has adopted a very hard line against the owners who do not care, in a big way, the right of the neighbors to sleep in peace without being awakened by the nocturnal excesses of their dogs.
The Supreme Court in fact sentenced to two months in prison each, without granting extenuating circumstances and parole, four Sicilians from Nicosia, in the Nisseno area, guilty of not taking measures to silence their ten dogs who, in the middle of the night, made a great 'cagnara'.
The defensive line of the defendants rejected by the Supreme Court: they wanted more in-depth investigations that would establish which dog had barked first, giving the 'there' to the others. Because, according to them, the blame and condemnation had to fall only on the owner of the 'alpha' dog. But the supreme judges of the First Criminal Section considered this type of investigation to be completely "irrelevant" since, after the first high pitch thrown by the most active dog, the others "barked all together" causing a "strong intensity" of noise "And a" common noise ".
As for the fact that the Court of Nicosia in first instance, and the Nissena Court in second, had denied the extenuating circumstances and the conditional suspension of the sentence, the Supreme Court - with sentence 4706 - explains that these benefits were rightly not granted. "The noises of the dogs - the supreme judges point out - could easily be mitigated, or certainly avoided by their owners". Furthermore, it was not an occasional bark, but a bark characterized by "diffusivity", moreover at night, which had caused the protests of many people tired of sleepless nights.
In short, the fact that the owners - Santo G., Giuseppe C., Santo F. and Francesco AP - did not intervene to sedate their animals, despite realizing the protests of the neighbors, cost them the 'direct' condemnation. to the prison. Now they must also pay the costs of the trial in the Supreme Court and pay 500 euros each to the Cassa delle Amende.
Source: Reuters