Animals Act 1971 (Amendment) Bill

The hon. Gentleman is exactly right and he makes an important intervention. Nothing in the Bill would undermine an injured party's right to seek the normal avenues of common law and negligence-based claims. The Mirvahedy judgment extended the scope of section 2(2) of the 1971 Act to increase liability for keepers of non-dangerous animals that can display dangerous behaviour in particular circumstances or at particular times. A great many people who have looked closely and carefully at this matter, including a minority of the judges who considered the Mirvahedy case, believe that the imposition of strict liability in cases in which a normal animal is behaving in a way that is not normal for an animal of that species, yet normal for that species in particular circumstances—for example, if a horse bolts after being sufficiently alarmed—goes further than the original intention of Parliament when it passed the 1971 Act. Far from clarifying what even the majority of the judges considering Mirvahedy agreed was an ambiguous piece of legislation, the judgment has extended the possible application of strict liability to a wider range of situations. That has compounded the problem of interpreting and applying the legislation. It has also created greater uncertainty and confusion in the minds of animal owners and a greater risk for insurance, which is reflected in increased insurance premiums.