Date: Mon, 26 Mar 2007 19:30

From: Vaughan Black

Subject: John Murphy and more on animals

Dear all,

The question posed by John Murphy puts me in mind of a small group of cases I have been collecting, thinking that one day I might write something about them. In these cases someone is driving a car when an animal -- say, a cat -- runs in front of it. The driver then swerves to avoid killing the cat, but loses control of the vehicle and crashes, injuring a passenger (or pedestrian, or sometimes just someone's property). In suits by the passenger against the driver the courts hold that where swerving to avoid killing the non-human puts a human at any significant risk of physical injury, negligence law requires one to drive straight ahead and kill the non-human.

In short, negligence law requires one to cause certain death to a non-human if that is the only way to avoid significant risk of injury to a human.

I assume this conclusion attracts general agreement?

vb

Quoting John Murphy:

Dear all:

Reading the stuff on animals reminded me of a question I was pondering some time ago. If Mr X has a nasty dog and the dog attacks me, my child or even a stranger while walking in the park, what right have I to kick/kill the dog without incurring liability to its owner who, for the sake of argument, kept it on a lead? I have right to kill a neighbour's dog if it strays onto my land and attacks my livestock; but what about if a person is the dog's victim? and does it make in any difference if we are in a public place?

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