ABSTRACT
The first question to determine is what is a domestic animal? In law, animals are divided into domestic and captive animals and, on the other hand, wild animals. This is an important distinction, as there are different rights and responsibility in relation to the different categories of animal. While wild animals now have a degree of protection under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and the Wild Mammals Protection Act 1996, the distinction may still be important in cases of liability for damage. This distinction was examined in the case of McQuaker v Goddard,4 where a camel had bitten a visitor at a zoo. The question the court considered was whether a camel was a wild or domestic animal. If the camel was a wild animal then the owner would not be liable. If the camel was a domestic animal then the owner would be liable. The judge decided that a camel was a domestic animal.
