The dog laws in Denmark have been altered so that illegal foreign dogs are no longer automatically put down if owners bring them to Denmark not knowing the rules.
Parliament unanimously agreed this week to change the law so the police will now apprehend the dog pending a decision on whether it can stay in the country.
“We don’t wish to demand that foreign dogs be put down when, for instance, tourists without knowledge of our legislation visit Denmark and bring their illegal dogs with them,” said the food minister, Esben Lunde Larsen.
“Our most important goal is to make it safe for citizens and their pets and we will still be doing that with this law change.”
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Iceberg ahead
The new law has been formulated in response to an incident this summer when Iceberg, the dog of an Italian restaurant worker in Denmark, nipped a man during an altercation with another dog and was sentenced to die once it was established it was one of 13 dogs currently banned in Denmark.
That was despite the dog easily entering the country in the spring after passing through routine custom controls, showing its passport and necessary veterinary documents.
The issue caused a big stink on social media and Iceberg ended up being granted leniency. It is currently in a dog kennel pending a final decision on its case.
