Il dog in the mountains Does he always have to be kept on a leash or can he be left free? The question, and the doubt about rules and prohibitions when taking the dog to the mountains, in winter as in summer, is always basically this (and here is also the opinion of a veterinarian). The Italian law, unfortunately, does not clarify unequivocally if and when you have to keep your dog on a leash even in the mountains, if and where it is possible to leave it free, and what are the behaviors that can and must be adopted when taking your 4-legged friend on paths and in the woods (including when taking the dog to the mountains in winter, so you can read some useful advice here). To try to understand what is allowed and what is forbidden, when it is possible to let your dog free and when it is compulsory to keep your dog on a leash in the mountains, you need to take into account these 4 regulatory aspects:
- Martini ordinanceor the contingent and urgent ordinance concerning the protection of public safety from dog aggression issued by the Ministry of Health on 06 August 2013 (published in the Official Gazette on 06 September 2013)
- I regulations of individual municipalities
- The regulations of special and protected areas (National, Regional, Local Parks, etc)
- The Decree of the President of the Republic of 8 February 1954, n. 320, which in article 82 speaks of the Veterinary police regulation
- The prohibitions and/or permits freely imposed by the managers of the mountain refuges
Unraveling this puzzle of rules, regulations and prohibitions is not easy, but let’s try to put things in order.
Dog in the mountains: how to behave
The general line, with the dog in the mountains one should behave in accordance with the Martini Ordinance of 2013 which first of all establishes that the owner of the dog and/or anyone, for whatever reason, agrees to keep a dog that does not belong to him”, are always responsible for its control and management.
The Ordinance also establishes the obligation to lead the dog “in urban areas and in places open to the public” always using a leash (with a maximum length of 1.5 metres), to carry a muzzle threat to the safety of other people or things or at the request of the competent authority, and of have with you the necessary to collect your dog’s droppings. The Martini Ordinance excludes dogs used by people with disabilities, working dogs for herding flocks and dogs used in armed forces and law enforcement.
In these few indications there is a precise implication and an area of doubt: the implication is that even in the mountains the owner is responsible for the behavior of his dog, for example in the case of disturbance or threat to other hikers, of hindrance or danger to other people (skiers, cyclists, etc.), and who similarly to that in the city, in the event of damage caused, will have to answer personally; the area of doubt is that the Martini Ordinance speaks of urban areas and places open to the public, and a mountain path or a forest is neither. And it is at this point that the regulations of the individual municipalities intervene.
Dog in the mountains: what the regulations say
Yes, because in the country of many bell towers each Municipality is free to issue ordinances and regulations on the presence of dogs in the mountains and therefore it is always good to check if there are particular and specific ones in the place where you go. The situation at this level can be extremely varied: there is no regulation, and so it is a question of interpretation of the Martini ordinance and the Decree of the President of the Republic of 8 February 1954 (which speaks of the obligation for dogs to wear a muzzle and leash conducted in the premises and on public transport, and of the muzzle only for dogs not led on a leash when they are in a place open to the public); in green and wooded areas the same regulation in force in the inhabited center is valid (and then it is good to read them); in green, wooded and mountain areas the regulation of the inhabited center does not apply and therefore it is possible let your dog go free, taking into account the responsibility for his behavior; there are particular prohibitions, forbidden areas and other limitations, as in the case of protected areas.
Can the dog be taken to the mountains in protected areas?
In fact, it often happens that natural, wooded and mountain areas fall within natural parks of different levels (national, regional, local) and that to protect wildlife it is forbidden not only to let one’s dog free but also to introduce it albeit on a leash. Normally this prohibition is very clear and well signposted at the edge of the affected areas, with special signs at the entrance to the paths, mule tracks and access roads. Explicit bans or not, this is an aspect that a dog owner must always take into consideration.
Wild animals that can be found in the mountains, such as hares, roe deer, chamois, marmots, deer and fallow deer, are much more vulnerable than one might think, especially in the summer season when they are preparing to face the winter and/or they are weaning their puppies. A dog left free chasing a wild animal can weaken or disturb it up to causing its death, even by possible predators. Our dog can also be a vehicle of diseases, in particular through its own excrements which can carry diseases such as distemper, leptospirosis or hepatitis to mustelids and canids such as stone martens, foxes, badgers, weasels, wolves and bears. But you should also keep in mind the dangers for your dog, which in contact with wild animals could contract rabiesAujeszky’s disease, transmitted by wild boar, tuberculosis (in case they ate from animal carcasses) and other endemic diseases in mountain areas.
Dog in the mountains, can he enter the shelters?
Finally, there is the whole question concerning access for dogs to mountain refugesand here is the regulation established by the CAI Refuge Commission (if it is a question of CAI shelters, as it often is): the Italian law allows dogs access to public places (or rather: it does not forbid it) however each manager has the right not to admit dogs in his shelter, signaling it clearly at the entrance. As the CAI regulation says “animals cannot be introduced into shelters, unless otherwise agreed between the Sections and the Manager.
If pets are welcome no signs will be affixed or at most welcome signs for our four-legged friends”. So if there is a prohibition of access to the dog in the shelter this is legitimate, if there is no prohibition, dogs should reasonably be allowed (if in doubt, it is always better to ask, even in relation to which areas are accessible) and if there is a sign welcome, the rules of any public establishment apply.
Photo by 2999607 from Pixabay
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