Court backs Swedish lesbian’s right to puppies
Sweden’s Court of Appeal has rejected a kennel owner’s request to appeal a sexual orientation discrimination case he lost after he refused to sell a dog to a customer because she was in a lesbian relationship.
During a phone call to the kennel owner enquiring about a puppy advertised for sale, the lesbian woman mentioned her partner.
The owner then refused to sell the puppy to her.
“In her explanation for denying the woman her puppy,” news website The Local reported, “the kennel owner made reference to earlier contacts she’d had with transvestite couples, saying she’d read that transvestites are connected to animal pornography.”
Sweden’s Ombudsman Against Discrimination on Grounds of Sexual Orientation (HomO) took the case to court.
HomO is tasked with counteracting homophobia and addressing discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation in Swedish society.
The kennel owner must now pay 20,000 kronor (£1,608) in damages.
The Swedish Constitution bans discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation.
