Man fined for shooting neighbour’s dog dead in France

A man from Moselle has been fined €1,500 for shooting dead his neighbour’s dog, after he claimed the dog attacked him. 

The man, 60, appeared before Thionville criminal court on May 2 charged with “serious abuse or cruelty to a domestic animal resulting in death”. 

The incident happened on October 2022, when the man spotted his neighbour’s two dogs in his garden. 

'No bites'

He said they appeared “quite aggressive” and were looking in the direction of his own dog, a Shih Tzu. 

He collected his gun from the basement, which was at that moment unloaded, then went to alert his neighbours, but they were not at home. 

“Suddenly the dogs came at me,” he told the court. “I started getting bitten and I fired seven times in a panic.” 

Photos from a doctor’s examination the next day showed scratches but no bites on the man. 

He was given antibiotics but not signed off work. 

The family, which had four children, said the dog, a Beauceron-Bouvier cross, had been “the family dog” and was called Alice. 

Five animal protection organisations also filed civil cases against the man. 

The court ordered him to pay a €1,500 fine, as well as €537 to his neighbours for material damages and €500 for moral damages. He was also banned from owning or carrying a weapon for the next five years. 

Another man in his 60s appeared before Auch judicial court in May 2025 on the same charges after shooting dead his neighbour’s dog.

He said he was defending his sheep after several recent attacks, but was fined €5,000. 

Killing a dog in self-defence is not illegal in France, but the animal must be proved to have been a threat. 

For example, in 2017, a woman was cleared after killing a dog that had attacked her cat. 

The dog would not drop the animal, even after the woman hit it. 

She eventually stabbed the dog with a kitchen knife. 

Firearms in France

Gun ownership is strictly regulated in France. 

Serving police officers, judges and security guards, including bodyguards, are allowed to carry firearms. 

Hunters are also allowed to own a gun, but may only use it while hunting. 

They must declare the weapon to their local prefecture when they buy it. 

The prefecture will carry out a risk assessment, a police check and a background check to determine whether they have been involved with any violent crimes or alcohol-related issues in the past 10 years.

There is a blacklist of 20,000 people who are banned from owning a gun in France. 

They face a €75,000 fine and five years in prison if they break the ban.