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A DANGEROUS BULL.
"One of the Frightom-d. Ones" writes:
-Will jon kindly iniWm me how a
.man should act When a farmer
keeps a bull, which is not safe to
the ipublic. The farmer in question
, has a block of land, and through the
(block is a surveyed road, but the
road is not fenced off from the other
land in the block, which ¡if> ring
fenced.. 1 might say that the road
at present is not used on the boun-
dary, andi not likoily to be for some
time, if ever it will be. The owner
soys the .buOl is quiet, and. if one
picks up a stone or .stick he will
run away, but the writer knows dif-
ferently, ai hy inching: up a stick
or a stone the writer bad to run
away, a ni1. jol'!,\ fast, too. with the
bull bellowing close belrnd. 1 don't
know how far he was behind, as I
had no timo to look around. Some
bay shoot hiui. others say tell the
police and the road 'board, so I
don't Know what to d10. If I was
charged bj that hull and had a rifle
at the time and shot him, would, I
be liable, for of course a man must
protect himself.
This is a somewhat difficult question,
and I only know one s.ide of the storj.
If a man has a ibull in his own paddock
nobody lias the right to go into that
paddock without trespassing, and if he
{toes this it is at his owl risk. Of
Course, the farmer should not kee]) 1 dan-
gerous buM. but "One of the Frightened.
Ones'" states that he knows the bull is
dangerous and therefore if he goes near
ile is going wilfully unto a dangerous
Bone. If a man docs trespass on au
? other man's paddock, and is attacked by
ii buM and s'hoot« it. Wie fact that he did
Íhe shooting in .«¡elf-defence would be
om« justification, .but 1 think that a
Count would award, the owner damages
because the man had no right to be
trespassing, and no right Ho go into a
dangerous eone. In this ca=e the posi-
tion is co in »J ¡on ted. by the fact that a
surveyed road runs through the paddock.
$nd although it is not used for traffic
anyone has a right to go along that road,
.. and if he is on the road and. is attacked
toy the bull on the road, he would be
justified) in shooting the animal iu self
defence, and without giving a 'legal
opinion I think he could not be held
Kable, for damages.
If a matter like this came before the
Court the whole circumstances would
have to 'be taken into consideration. I
do not know al! the circumstances, and
any opinion«. I have given doo ve are sub-
ject to revision on fuller information.
My ad.vice i«-keep away from danger
and do nut go to law.
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