Results

This case arose after twelve-year old Samantha Zuckerman sustained injuries when she fell the pony she was riding during a horseback riding lesson at Camp Laurel in Mount Vernon, Maine. Samantha alleged that her instructors improperly saddled the pony, which caused her saddle to slip. In appealing the Magistrate's recommended decision, Camp Laurel again claims that it is immune from liability under Maine Equine Activities Act because a slipping saddle is a risk inherent to the sport of horseback riding. Camp Laurel contends that the faulty tack exception is limited to situations where the tack cracks, breaks, or frays and does not include  an “improperly tightened girth” or an “inappropriate pony” or “faulty horse.” This Court agreed with the Magistrate Judge that the record raises a genuine issue of material fact concerning the “faulty” tack exception. The Court found that the negligence here was tied to an exception to the liability shield - faulty tack.

This law constitutes Zimbabwe's cruelty to animals act. Under the act, “animal” means: (a) any kind of domestic vertebrate animal; (b) any kind of wild vertebrate animal in captivity; (c) the young of any animal referred to above. The law prohibits the cruel beating, kicking, overriding, overdriving, overloading, or torturing of animals, among other things. Section 4 requires “knackers” (any person whose trade or business it is to kill any horse, mule, ass, bovine, sheep, goat or pig, the meat of which is primarily intended for animals) to comply with regulations. Section 5 deals with the control of pet shops and other places where animals are kept in captivity for trading purposes.