Croatian court orders a dog not to bark at night

The case of a Croatian court ordering a dog not to bark at night cannot but be taken with the utmost seriousness as it comes perilously close to tampering with the natural order of things. Can birds be asked not to litter parked cars with their droppings? Can politicians be forbidden from promising people the moon? Courts, therefore, have to be mindful of such constraints when passing orders. After all, dogs are very territorial and so take a dim view of any interlopers, biped or quadruped, especially after nightfall. Ordering or even asking them to do otherwise would be a fruitless endeavour, and would be tantamount to putting an unfair pressure on their owners. No wonder the Croatian dog — now confined to a barn between 8pm and 8am — has become a social media sensation. It almost seems like the dog has become a part-time prisoner of conscience, forbidden to do what he believes is right simply because it is not to the liking of a member of another species, i.e., human.

In India, where most nightly canine cacophonies are conducted by free agents, so to speak, such orders would be unimplementable, so courts here would presumably demur from venturing in that direction. Ordering sound-proof windows could be considered by the Croatian court to prevent any unviable precedent being set by the initial gag order.