Order to put down a dog was valid (Rambo)
Supreme Court judgment 6 June 2018, HR-2018-1057-A (case no. 2017/1678), civil case, appeal against judgment, A (Counsel Knut Jullumstrø) v. The state represented by the Ministry of Justice and Police Security (Attorney-General represented by Torje Sunde)
Justices: Sverdrup, Berglund, Noer, Bull, Øie
The police had ordered the destruction of a mixed-race dog that had bit a man and inflicted him with a relatively large, bleeding wound; see the Dogs Act section 18 subsection 1. After reviewing the preparatory works, the Supreme Court held that the threshold of what can be counted as such unacceptable risk that may give grounds for destruction is not very high. In the individual assessment, the Supreme Court found that there was a genuine and significant risk that the dog could attack and hurt people again. The dog also scared people in the neighbourhood. Under these circumstances, the owner's emotional attachment and her needs had to give way. Destruction was not a disproportionate measure. The appeal against the court of appeal's judgment for the respondent was dismissed.