Behrens v. Bertram Mills Circus, Ltd.
Queen's Bench
2 QB 1 (1957)
Relevant factsFree
Mrs. Behrens (plaintiff), a circus performer, worked at Bertram Mills Circus (defendant) under a license granted to her manager, Whitehead. Bertram forbade dogs on its premises, but Whitehead brought his dog anyway, and it barked at one of Bertram's trained elephants, provoking the elephant to chase it. During the chase, the elephant injured Behrens and damaged her booth. The Behrenses sued Bertram.
IssueFree
Whether the owner of an animal legally classified as wild is strictly liable for damage the animal causes while out of control, even if the individual animal is tame and trained.