Q&A: Following up on the case in which a pit bull bit a baby girl to death
Following up on the case in which a pit bull bit a baby girl to death
Question
According to Jewish law, is its sentence death?
Some suggested taking responsibility for it and training it—should they be allowed to do so? Or is it simply sentenced to death, and that’s that?
Answer
According to Jewish law, its sentence is death by stoning, like an ox that killed a person. However, this requires discussion nowadays, since the death of the ox is tied to the death of its owner, and today we do not have ordained religious courts, certainly not one of twenty-three judges. There is also room to discuss whether it really intended to kill. The Talmud discusses a case where it intended to kill one person and killed another—whether it is liable to stoning. As a practical ruling, I think that at least nowadays it can be handed over for training, provided it is watched very carefully.