Saudi lawyers are calling for owners of camels that stray onto roads in the Kingdom, causing a major nuisance for road users, to be penalised.
Lawyers argue that current laws aren’t stringent enough, and that if an animal wanders onto the road and causes a fatal crash, owners aren’t criminally liable.
Ahmed Al-Ashwan, a Saudi lawyer, has called for revisions to KSA’s current road rules which would help place the onus for fatal crashes caused by stray camels squarely on the shoulders of the owner.
“The case of such animals should be like the drivers who caused accidents,” he pointed out.
The punishment for such an offense is jail for not more than a year or fine of not more than SAR10,000 or both, he added.
Under current laws, animal owners can be prosecuted privately by accident survivors.
