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10 of Europe’s weirdest laws

Author: Ned Dymoke / Source: Big Think

While a few of the laws on this list are holdovers from long ago, some laws are as recent as 2011.
While marrying a dead person or handling salmon suspiciously might sound morbid or hilarious, these laws have historical context.
Some of today’s laws might seem as antiquated as these in 100 years, too.

In England and Scotland, it is illegal to handle a salmon in suspicious circumstances

Anglers on the banks of the river Tay during the traditional opening of the river Tay Salmon Season on January 15, 2018 in Kenmore, Scotland. Photo credit: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

The Salmon Act of 1986 has to do with the regulation of salmon fishing, as the waters off of the east and north-east coasts of England and Scotland are famous for their boundless number of the fish. There’s 43 paragraphs in the law, but people certainly seem to be drawn to the 32rd section, which states that “it is illegal to handle a salmon in suspicious circumstances.” You can read it here.

While the line out of context sounds like it could easily be a new-wave album title — or, perhaps something out of a Monty Python sketch — it ostensibly has to do with illegal fishing, i.e., don’t go rogue and try and start a salmon fishing operation in British or Scottish waters without consulting the government first.

In England, it is illegal to be drunk and in charge of a horse

Water drips off a horse after finishing a race with a water bucket being poured on them at Exeter Racecourse on October 23, 2018 in Exeter, England.

Photo credit: Harry Trump/Getty Images

Though the law is widely cited as not being allowed to be in charge of a cow, the law is actually on the books to include several other, uh, modes of transport. According to British law, “Under the Licensing Act 1872, it is an offense to be drunk in charge of a carriage, horse, cow or steam engine, or whilst in possession of a loaded firearm.” Ostensibly, this was a law is to make drunk driving illegal before cars were invented.

It is illegal to enter a taxi if you have the plague

Image source: Wikimedia Commons

If the zombie apocalypse ever actually happens, there’s a good chance none of them will be taking a taxi. . . thanks in large part to the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act of 1984. The law is actually somewhat more specific in regard to the transport of sick passengers: you have to tell the driver you’re ill, and then it’s up to them to let you in. Then the taxi driver must tell the authorities, who in turn will disinfect the taxi. Bus drivers are forbidden from taking anyone with a “notifiable” disease, which includes the plague.