GOOD NEIGHBOURS

A man in Holbæk has just shot dead his neighbour's 10-year old labrador dog, Balder. Balder had got out of the enclosure that was supposed to keep him in, and had run over to the neighbour's property.

A bit of an overreaction, you might think. But what is really surprising is that the enraged gunowner had the law on his side. Under the relevant legislation, which dates from 1872, a property owner has the right to shoot any animal being a nuisance on their property. Although the law was originally intended to apply more to wild animals, it does include pets, provided that the pet owner is warned that the animal is being a nuisance and of the consequences if he doesn't do something about it (which he was). So the police can do nothing.

Which still leaves one dead dog, and one grieving family. I suspect that relations between neighbours in this particular part of Denmark will be strained for some time to come.

Walter Blotscher