Ras Al Khaimah: The owners of animals which cause road accidents are to be held responsible for the incidents, Ras Al Khaimah authorities said.
The owners of animals which cause crashes will be interrogated and prosecuted, they said.
The animals' owners would be liable for casualties, damages or injuries to the other party involved in the accident.
Once the owners are identified with the cooperation of the departments concerned, they will be referred to the Public Prosecution to press charges and recommend the necessary fines.
The case would then be referred to the court.
The RAK authorities said severe penalties would be imposed on the owners of the stray camels which roam areas such as Al Digdaga and southern Al Dhaid.
The risk to drivers in those areas was particularly bad at night as the streets were unlit, the authorities said.
This issue had become more serious as stray camels had started to pose a serious threat to drivers on Emirates Road.
A senior officer at the RAK Traffic and Licensing Department said 87 accidents involving animals have been reported in Ras Al Khaimah this year.
Of these, 52 cases had been reported in Al Digdaga alone.
The Traffic and Licensing Department, in collaboration with other departments, will trawl the streets for stray animals, and impound them.
The officer said the department had been receiving daily complaints about stray animals on roads, mainly camels.
The death of a 41-year-old Emirati over the past weekend on Masafi road brought to light the threat stray camels pose on the roads.
Captain Salem Mohammad, Acting Head of the Traffic Section at Al Digdaga Police Station, said a stray camel suddenly crossed the road and the driver was unable to avoid it.
The driver hit the animal and then was forced into the path of another car driven by an Arab national.
When a stray animal died in a road accident, the owner showed up to claim the animal's worth, which had caused serious disputes between the animals' owners and the victims' families, he said.
What do you think of this rule? How would you react if you saw an animal in the middle of the road?
