Should it be legal to smash a car window to save an aniamal?

[GoldenMerc]

Hi,

This is my first debate so eeee

Never the less as the heat rises, The facebook pictures also do too;
https://scontent-b-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/t1.0-9/10345748_476263972505728_773270254708734481_n.jpg

Should it be legal to smash someones car window to save a animal?
Read this article before you comment;
http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2013/09/could_passersby_have_legally_broken_car_window_to_ save_dog_that_dided_at_state_f.html

It currently is a crime to smash the window, Although in some cases the animal owner will also be charged.
Ross

[j0rd]

depends what the make and model of car it is

[Kardan]

No, call the police/RSPCA.

[Mikey]

I don't think it should be legal, shouldn't get yourself involved in that way. If you are concerned then as said above then call the police or the RSPCA, it's not your place to smash a window.

[sexpot]

I wouldn't hesitate to smash a window to get an animal out of a hot car.

[lemons]

yes! smash it to pieces! pop the tyres as well stupid owners

[MKR&*42]

Unless the animal inside is literally on it's deathbed and the RSPCA aren't going to get there quick enough, then no you shouldn't.

[Yawn]

i think its the right thing to do but im too scaredy :$

they die horrible unneccessary death some1 should act tbh i probs would if i could see time was running out :'(

-

also in most cases im sure the owner would be more thankful their poor pet is alive than a smashed window

[Futz]

yeah I go around parking lots in summer looking to smash car windows in

sometimes there isn't even an animal inside

[xxMATTGxx]

Would probably best to call the Police or RSPCA and get them to help the trapped animal instead.

[Evanora]

SMASH THE WINDOWS SET FIRE TO THE CAR

[Paige.]

i get hot and bothered sitting in the car on a hot day after like 5 minutes, why should animals have to endure this? honestly can't understand owners that leave their animals in the car for long periods of time on a hot day
i wouldn't even hesitate to smash a car window if i felt the animal was in danger
their life > me getting a little bit in trouble

as for it being legal or not, i originally was going to say i 100% think it should be but after thinking more into it perhaps there are other ways around it
obviously you're not going to leave the animal in the hot car even if they're not on death's door as it's just cruel, i think it should be legal under certain circumstances for example: if you ring the rspca and you're then waiting for them to turn up and the animal starts taking a bad turn then it should be legal to then smash the window to get them out

[Lewis]

definitely should be legal if the animal's life is in danger.

[FlyingJesus]

Let's also make car theft legal if you need a lift somewhere

[Absently]

no, unless you have rang like others have said rspca or the police and if they take too long and the dog is obviously in an awful lot of bother then that's the only time, but shouldn't be made legal. especially like you might not know circumstances, like sometimes on hot days i might be bringing dogs off but leave 'em in car for a few minutes if i run into shop (with windows open and stuff obvs) but imagine if someone didn't know that and smashed my window!! i'd be so angry

[Kuybii]

I had the same moment today, walked past a car with a dog on the backseat, my heart dropped...so i forwarded the registration plate of the car, a photo of the dog on the backseat and the road the car was sitting on to the police via the non-emergency line because saving a dogs life isn't apparently an emergency. Hoping something has happened or the cogs are rolling to get the douche who locked the car a fine or something stern.

[The Don]

No it shouldn't be legal to damage other peoples property. There are proper channels available such as calling the RSPCA, turning into a thug and smashing somebodies car window isn't the right thing to do unless it's literally a last resort.

[scottish]

No, call police or RSPCA as others said

However on that though

To the people who responded, if it was the same situation but a baby would you smash it then?

[Kardan]

No, call police or RSPCA as others said

However on that though

To the people who responded, if it was the same situation but a baby would you smash it then?

Nope, call the police, and if it was a situation dependent on time, I'd call 999.

[akeel$]

yes i would send my umbrella right through the window just like brave britney!! justice for animals.

[lemons]

i cant believe you idiots would just sit there and watch a poor baby or animal melt to death

[GommeInc]

There are a few reasons it's best to keep it illegal. First, it's someone else's property (pretty obvious), the other is that the smashed glass may cause injury to the dog, yourself and those who may use the car park/place the car is in afterwards. The best thing to do is call the police or simply 101 for advice. The RSPCA may be a good idea but they won't respond as quickly as desired. You could argue you should act then and now, but a phone call to 101 really won't be that long.

Funnily enough, if the dog was a baby or a child it's perfectly fine to smash the glass. You may be liable for criminal damage but you can argue it's the best of two evils. Is it best to let a child/baby die or cause criminal damage? It comes under defence of necessity. It depends on if the baby looks as though it is on deaths door and it really is a spur of the moment act. You can't just smash the glass on a reasonably warm day. Obvious scenario is a supermarket car park - you inform the manager and/or the police.

[sexpot]

Nope, call the police, and if it was a situation dependent on time, I'd call 999.

I don't know what it's like there, but over here the police have an average response time of 10 minutes. Would you really wait potentially 10 minutes for the authorities to arrive?

[Kardan]

I don't know what it's like there, but over here the police have an average response time of 10 minutes. Would you really wait potentially 10 minutes for the authorities to arrive?

Depends on how much time I thought it was worth waiting for. There's a difference between a baby stuck in a car when it's 20 degrees outside, and a baby stuck in a car when it's 35.

[Yawn]

mess. if some1 who was simply uninformed about the dangers of hot cars and has left their dog or child they gna be more grateful to have saved their child/pets life than bothered that they have a smashed car window

heck if we going thru a heatwave a smashed car window will bring a nice breeze :Innocent:

[FlyingJesus]

i cant believe you idiots would just sit there and watch a poor baby or animal melt to death

Don't think anyone decided they'd pull up a chair and watch

[wordofwisdom]

i would if the rspca wouldn't do anything on arrive quickly or i'd phone the police however if it looked as if the animal was dying i'd smash the window

[akeel$]

i cant believe you idiots would just sit there and watch a poor baby or animal melt to death

this.
just smash the window grab the animal and wait for the person who owns the car to come back to teach them the lesson and how things work in the real world!

[Alkaz]

The window is replaceable, the life of the animal isn't.

[FlyingJesus]

Yeah it you can buy dogs

[lemons]

Don't think anyone decided they'd pull up a chair and watch
well that's basically what you're doing waiting for police or rspca to come

god knows how long they will take especially rspca

[LoveToStack]

If you can prove beyond reasonable doubt that the animal in the car is about to die then maybe consider intervening. Even then best call the police or the RSPCA before smashing someone's window. With that said, how do you know that an animal in a car is in need of saving? You don't know when you see an animal in a car that it's in for a 2 hour wait, baking in the hot sun. You have no way of knowing that the animal's owner hasn't popped into a shop and will be back in seconds or not.

Then consider if it was legal to smash a window to "save an animal?". Where do you draw the line? Bear in mind that if you're driving down a road, the law says you should attempt to stop if a dog darts in front of your car but if a cat jumps out then then you're not obliged to stop if it isn't safe. Are similar distinctions needed here? Is it OK to smash someone's window to save a dog in high temperatures but not OK to save someone's cat? Is it OK to smash a window to save someone's pet rat but not OK to smash a window to save someone's ant farm? If so then it has to be considered how these distinctions should be made.

Personally I don't think it should be legal.

[Americanozz]

Depending on the state of the animal, if it looks really bad, then 100% yes, but if it's only been in there like 5 minutes then call the police/rspca