Section 377: Letting a fierce or dangerous animal go about
Statutory text (Thai original)
ผู้ใดควบคุมสัตว์ดุหรือสัตว์ร้าย ปล่อยปละละเลยให้สัตว์นั้นเที่ยวไปโดยลำพัง ในประการที่อาจทำอันตรายแก่บุคคลหรือทรัพย์ ต้องระวางโทษจำคุกไม่เกินหนึ่งเดือน หรือปรับไม่เกินหนึ่งหมื่นบาท หรือทั้งจำทั้งปรับ หมายเหตุ: [อัตราโทษ แก้ไขเพิ่มเติมโดยมาตรา ๖ แห่งพระราชบัญญัติแก้ไขเพิ่มเติมประมวลกฎหมายอาญา (ฉบับที่ ๒๒) พ.ศ. ๒๕๕๘]
English translation
Whoever, having charge of a fierce or dangerous animal, neglectfully allows that animal to go about alone in a manner that may cause harm to a person or to property, shall be liable to imprisonment not exceeding one month, or a fine not exceeding ten thousand baht, or both.
ThaiLawOnline translation, written from the Thai original and verified
Firm annotation
The elements are (1) having charge of an animal, (2) the animal being fierce or dangerous, (3) neglectfully allowing it to go about alone, and (4) doing so in a manner that may cause harm to a person or to property. No harm need actually occur: the section is directed at the risk created, so the words "may cause harm" are satisfied by the potential alone. Liability attaches to whoever has charge of the animal, who is not necessarily the owner. The parallel provision for a person of unsound mind is Section 373, which carries a fine only of up to 5,000 baht; this section is the more serious of the two because it allows imprisonment of up to one month. Where an animal actually injures someone, the heavier offences against life and body apply instead, and civil liability for damage caused by an animal rests on the owner or keeper under Section 433 of the Civil and Commercial Code.
Why this matters in practice
This is the section behind most dog-attack complaints in Thailand where nobody was actually bitten. Because the offence is complete on the risk alone, a complainant need not show injury, only that the animal was fierce or dangerous and was allowed out unattended in circumstances where harm was possible. For a keeper, the defence turns on whether the animal is properly characterised as fierce or dangerous and on whether the release was genuinely neglectful rather than accidental. Note that a conviction here does not resolve compensation: liability for damage caused by an animal is governed separately by Section 433 of the Civil and Commercial Code, which places the burden on the owner or on the person who undertook to keep the animal.
Cited in 6 Supreme Court decisions (1962 to 2024)
Selected citing decisions
- Decision 8040/2567 (2024)
- Decision 4395/2557 (2014)
- Decision 11982/2555 (2012)
- Decision 162/2523 (1980)
- Decision 151/2505 (1962)
- Decision 3435/2527 (1984)
This list is selected automatically, weighted towards judgments that turn on this section rather than ones that merely recite it when passing sentence. It has not yet been reviewed by the firm.
Counted across the firm's corpus of 83,652 Supreme Court decisions, 1921 to 2026. The count is complete; the stated year range trims rare outliers so it describes where the citations actually sit. These figures are computed by us and are not official court statistics. How we count these, and what we measured
Frequently asked questions
What does Section 377 punish?
A person having charge of a fierce or dangerous animal who neglectfully allows it to go about alone in a manner that may cause harm to a person or to property. The penalty is up to one month in prison, or a fine of up to 10,000 baht, or both.
Does someone have to be bitten or injured first?
No. The offence is complete on the risk: the statute asks only whether the animal was allowed out alone in a manner that may cause harm. That is why this section is used for dog complaints where nobody was actually bitten.
Is the owner or the keeper liable?
Whoever has charge of the animal, who is not necessarily the owner. Separately, civil liability for damage caused by an animal falls on the owner or on the person who undertook to keep it, under Section 433 of the Civil and Commercial Code.
Related guides on ThaiLawOnline
Cite this section
-
Plain citation
Penal Code, s. 377 (Thailand) -
Academic citation
Penal Code (Thailand), s. 377. ThaiLawOnline, https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-377/ (accessed 17 August 2026). -
Thai citation
ป.อ. มาตรา 377 -
Permalink
https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-377/ -
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<blockquote cite="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-377/"><p>Whoever, having charge of a fierce or dangerous animal, neglectfully allows that animal to go about alone in a manner that may cause harm to a person or to property, shall be liable to imprisonment not exceeding one month, or a fine not exceeding ten…</p><footer>Penal Code, s. 377 (Thailand) — <a href="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-377/">ThaiLawOnline</a></footer></blockquote>
The Thai text is authoritative. The English is an unofficial translation by ThaiLawOnline, free to reuse with attribution.