Animals Act 1971 (Amendment) Bill

I beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time. The purpose of this Bill is to bring clarity to an area of law that has been beset with controversy and confusion in recent years, leading to enormous negative practical consequences for interested parties. I am talking about the legal framework for the application of civil liability in respect of damage done by animals, and in particular the application of strict liability in cases where non-dangerous animals have caused injury or damage. I am talking about animals such as horses, ponies and cows, rather than tigers or snakes. The relevant legislation is section 2(2) of the Animals Act 1971. My short Bill aims to restore the careful balance that the Act tried to achieve between the rights of members of the public and the rights of keepers of animals regarding the circumstances in which keepers are liable for damage caused by animals, which has been upset in recent years following the 2003 House of Lords ruling in the case of Mirvahedy v. Henley. In attempting to restore that balance, my Bill will clarify the limits on how and when strict liability can be applied. As I will argue, that clarification will be entirely in keeping with the original intentions between the 1971 Act and will be consistent with the underlying principles of that legislation. I spent last Friday morning at a disabled riding centre in my constituency. I had a fabulous time watching a large group of young people with various physical and learning disabilities drawn from a huge cross-section of society enjoying a riding lesson. I spoke to the parents and carers of those young people who told me—every single one of them—that the weekly riding session was the highlight of the young people's week. They told me about the importance of the activity, not only because of the pure fun and enjoyment offered by the experience but because it helped the young people to develop motor skills and better co-ordination and to gain confidence. I then spent some time talking to the owner of the riding centre, Mrs. Janet Gibson. She is not a lawyer and would not claim to understand all the legal arguments about the application of strict liability, but she does understand her business: how to run a large and extremely well-organised riding centre that provides not only lessons for hundreds of able-bodied and disabled riders each week but, through a link to the local further education college, tuition to riding instructors. She described to me the burdens and challenges facing riding centres such as hers. Specifically, she told me about the soaring insurance costs that she has faced in recent years, which threaten the financial viability of her centre. She told me that she saw her insurance costs leap by about 25 per cent. in one year alone. That year was 2004-05, which is significant as we are thinking about the effects of the 2003 House of Lords judgment. Her insurance costs have risen by more than 65 per cent. since then. She explained how insurance has been getting more expensive and a lot more difficult to obtain for riding centres and livery yards. She told me about six or seven other riding centres in the region that she knew had been forced to close as a consequence of the increasing cost burden affecting the equine sector.