“The behaviour of animals in relation to the Animals Act 1971 has been the subject of much consideration both in reported cases and also in academic and legal articles. In addition, the UK Health and Safety Executive has stated that the industry group of “Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing” is the most dangerous industry in the UK, publishing several guides to improve farm safety for both farm workers and those who encounter farm livestock more widely. In these various fora, the dangers of specific behaviours of animals have been reported, and there have been deliberations over whether those behaviours are normal under abnormal circumstances or vice versa (for example, that a female dog or cow is normally benign but can be aggressive when it perceives a threat to her young) or how farming operations can be made safer. However, we cannot know all possible behaviours that an animal might perform under any circumstances …”
€ (Westlaw)
John Eddison, ‘The Animals Act 1971: the characteristics test: the animal perspective’ [2021] Journal of Personal Injury Law (4) 209-217.
First posted 2021-12-01 14:00:24
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