Animals Act 1971 (Amendment) Bill

I must take us back to where I began. It is essential that we understand that this is clarifying the law. We do not want the current set of circumstances to continue, whereby in any situation someone can be liable for the way an animal acts despite their acting responsibly and making the best endeavours to ensure that the animal does not cause injury. This is a clarification of the law. The Government also contend that the ability to claim compensation in the types of cases I have been referring to is not fully in line with the liability regimes applying in comparable situations where injury is caused by things other than animals; and the outcome of compensation claims in such cases involving animals remains uncertain under the current legislation, even allowing for the extension of strict liability into this territory following Mirvahedy, and the recent appeal court verdict in McKenny v. Foster. In passing, I would like to draw special attention to the McKenny v. Foster case, not only because it clearly demonstrates that, despite the assumptions made by some, the current situation relating to compensation for innocent parties injured in accidents involving animals is far from clear or certain, but because the bizarre facts in the case clearly demonstrate how impossible it is to predict, and therefore protect against, the behaviour of animals. As many Members will know, this case revolved around a cow that was standing stationary in the road when it was hit by a car. The hon. Member for Preseli Pembrokeshire described the offence, whereby the cow, which was separated from its calf, managed to jump not only a six-bar field gate into a farm lane, but also a 12 ft cattle grid at the end of the lane. The courts, sensibly, in this case held that the behavioural characteristic that the cow had exhibited was not the normal agitation resulting from being separated from its calf. The hon. Member for Leominster (Bill Wiggin), as an experienced farmer, will know that very well, as, I am sure, will the hon. Member for Brecon and Radnorshire, who is no longer present. The cow behaved in an extraordinary manner, and the ruling confirmed that, notwithstanding Mirvahedy, not all accidents involving animals entail strict liability under section 2(2) of the Animals Act. Nevertheless, the outcome of this case does not lessen the need to clarify section 2(2), and it is worth noting that the judges in McKenny referred to the ambiguity in section 2(2) and the conflicting interpretations of it. The Government therefore believe that it is in everybody's interests to clarify the law, so that everybody—owners, riders, businesses, victims, lawyers, insurers and the courts—can be certain where strict liability applies and where it does not.