The Overtoun bridge is located 30km north of Glasgow. It was completed in 1895 to a design by engineer Henry Ernest Milner.
The bridge attracted the attention of the media due to the frequent and mysterious suicide of dogs, which is why it was also renamed "bridge of suicide dogs".
To date, more than 300 dogs have jumped off the bridge.
The first phenomena related to "suicide" of dogs date back to the decade 1950-1960 when some dogs threw themselves from the bridge for no apparent reason.
The only things these dogs had in common were the fact that they all jumped from the same spot and were all dogs with long snouts.
In October 1994, Kevin Moy threw his newborn son off the bridge because he believed he was the incarnation of the Devil. He then attempted suicide several times, first by attempting to jump off the bridge and then by cutting his wrists.
As the unexplained phenomenon of dog suicides caught the attention of international media, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) sent David Sexton to investigate the causes of dogs killing themselves at Overtoun Bridge.
It has been suggested that suicides are caused by a sound only audible to animals but no evidence has ever been found. Even today it is a mystery what drives the dogs to throw themselves from the bridge and for this reason a sign has been placed that says "Dangerous bridge. Please keep your dogs on a leash".
Since 2021 in the United Kingdom, Parliament has issued tougher penalties for animal abuse and for better animal welfare, "Animal Welfare".
The Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Act entered into force on June 29, 2021.
The new law punishes cruelty to animals with more severe penalties, up to five years in prison (in Italy the maximum is two years).
The new criminal procedure and sentencing regime will apply only in England and Wales. The leading British animal welfare association favorably comments on "alignment with the rest of the UK" where stricter penalties have long been applied. Scotland, in particular, increased criminal convictions for animal offences in 2020.
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