New Connecticut Law: Horses Not Vicious

The Connecticut Senate has passed HB 5044, which prevents domesticated horses from being classified as vicious.
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The Connecticut Senate unanimously passed HB 5044 on May 6, which prevents domesticated horses from being classified as vicious. The state’s House of Representatives passed the law unanimously in April, and Governor Dannel P. Malloy, who introduced the legislation in February, has committed to signing the bill into law. 

The law refutes two court decisions that involved a horse in Milford, Connecticut, that bit a child in 2006. The initial court ruling in 2010 sided with the horse’s owner due to the horse’s lack of a biting history. However, that decision was appealed and overturned in February 2012, resulting in a Supreme Court case decided in March. That decision stated that horse owners and keepers have “a duty to take reasonable steps to prevent injuries that are foreseeable because the animal belongs to a species or breed that is naturally inclined to cause such injuries, and that the owner may be held liable for negligence if he or she fails to take such reasonable steps and an injury results.” This decision resulted in court decisions on a case-by-case basis.

Malloy initially introduced the legislation in response to concerns that classifying horses as vicious would cause insurance rates for horse-related businesses to skyrocket or for insurance to be cancelled altogether. This could have threatened the state’s horse industry, including breeding, training and boarding stables; therapeutic riding programs; horse camps; petting zoos; trail riding; and other horse-related activities.

“Connecticut’s agriculture sector contributes $3.5 billion to our economy, accounts for about 28,000 jobs in our state, and is an industry with tremendous growth potential,” Malloy said

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Written by:

Diane Rice earned her bachelor’s degree in agricultural journalism from the University of Wisconsin, then married her education with her lifelong passion for horses by working in editorial positions at Appaloosa Journal for 12 years. She has also served on the American Horse Publications’ board of directors. She now freelances in writing, editing, and proofreading. She lives in Middleton, Idaho, and spends her spare time gardening, reading, serving in her church, and spending time with her daughters, their families, and a myriad of her own and other people’s pets.

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