Dangerous Wild Animals

Animals show up in a variety of contexts in Torts on the MBE. Many of the strict liability questions that show up in Torts will involve dangerous defects in products, but you'll also be questioned on strict liability due to harm caused by animals. And the liability due to animals often turns on whether the animal is deemed to be wild or domestic. On the MBE it's safe to assume that domestic animals are common household pets and livestock.  Other animals are wild.  The distinction is, admittedly, not always easy.

Wild Animals: 

First to note is that an owner is strictly liable for reasonably foreseeable damage caused by trespass of the owner's wild animals. An owner is likewise liable to both licensees and invitees for injuries caused by wild animals, even if that wild animals is kept as a pet. The harm that results from the wild animal must, however, result from the kind of danger that is to be anticipated from the animal, which can include harm that results from fleeing from the perceived danger. In other words, the harm must result directly from the dangerous propensities of the wild animal.

Domestic Animals:

An owner is not strictly liable for injuries caused by domestic animals. An important exception to note is that an owner can be held strictly liable for injuries caused by domestic animals if the owner has knowledge of the dangerous propensities of the domestic animal and if those dangerous propensities are not common to the species. You should always ensure before finding liability for harm caused by a domestic animal that whatever dangerous propensities that animal has is not one that is common to the species.

It's important to note that strict liability will generally not be imposed in favor of trespassers who trespass on the land and are then injured by an animal (wild or domestic). But always consider liability based on intentional tort, which might be available even to trespassers.