Liability of the Animal Owner

The owner of an animal has responsibilities for damages caused by the animal, even if the owner is not negligent or at fault. This responsibility is called strict liability.

According to the law, "a person who undertakes the care and management of an animal, either permanently or temporarily" is liable for this responsibility. This means that even if someone doesn't permanently care for the animal, for example, someone who temporarily keeps a sick cat they found on the street at their home to take it to a veterinarian, is also subject to these responsibilities. However, giving water to a sick cat they see on the road is not included in this scope.

Since keeping game, wild, or savage animals is already prohibited, these types of animals are not included in this scope.

The owner of the animal shall not be held liable if they can prove that they exercised due diligence to prevent the damage from occurring. Furthermore, if the animal was frightened by another person or by an animal under another person's responsibility, the injured party has the right to seek recourse against those individuals. If neither of these situations applies, the injured party has the right to claim compensation for material and moral damages.

For these rules to apply, the animal must be acting on its own instinct. If the damage is caused by the actions of the person who has the animal under their control, that person will be held directly responsible.

Regarding the rights of a person whose property has been damaged by an animal, they have the right to detain the animal until the damage is compensated, and to neutralize it if circumstances require. However, unlike the old law, they do not have the right to kill the animal under any circumstances. If the animal is detained or neutralized, the owner must be notified immediately, and if the owner is unknown, they must make efforts to find them, notify the security forces if necessary, or resort to public notice.

According to the Supreme Court, legal entities are also liable as persons who own animals.