4 Liability for damage and expenses due to trespassing livestock
4.--(1) Where livestock belonging to any person strays on to land in the ownership or occupation of another and—
(a) damage is done by the livestock to the land or to any property on it which is in the ownership or possession of the other person; or
(b) any expenses are reasonably incurred by that other person in keeping the livestock while it cannot be restored to the person to whom it belongs or while it is detained in pursuance of section 7 of this Act, or in ascertaining to whom it belongs;
the person to whom the livestock belongs is liable for the damage or expenses, except as otherwise provided by this Act.
(2) For the purposes of this section any livestock belongs to the person in whose possession it is.
5 Exceptions from liability under sections 2 to 4
5.--(1) A person is not liable under sections 2 to 4 of this Act for any damage which is due wholly to the fault of the person suffering it.
(2) A person is not liable under section 2 of this Act for any damage suffered by a person who has voluntarily accepted the risk thereof.
(3) A person is not
liable under section 2 of this Act for any damage caused by an
animal kept on any premises or structure to a person trespassing
there, . . . . . . .
(4) A person is not liable under section 3 of
this Act if the livestock was killed or injured on land on to
which it had strayed . . . . . .
(5) A person is not liable under section 4 of
this Act where the livestock strayed from a highway and its
presence there was a lawful use of the highway.
(6) In determining whether any liability for damage under section 4 of this Act is excluded by subsection (1) of this section the damage shall not be treated as due to the fault of the person suffering it by reason only that he could have prevented it by fencing;but a person is not liable under that section where it is proved that the straying of the livestock on to the land would not have occurred but for a breach by any other person, being a person having an interest in the land, of a duty to fence.
6 Interpretation of certain expressions used in sections 2 to 5
6.--(1) The following provisions apply to the interpretation of sections 2 to 5 of this Act.
(2) . . . . .
(3) Subject to subsection (4) of this section, a person is a keeper of an animal if—
(a) he owns the animal or has it in his possession; or
(b) he is the head of a household of which a member under the age of sixteen owns the animal or has it in his possession;
and if at any time an animal ceases to be owned by or to be in the possession of a person, any person who immediately before that time was a keeper thereof by virtue of the preceding provisions of this subsection continues to be a keeper of the animal until another person becomes a keeper thereof by virtue of those provisions.
(4) Where an animal is taken into and kept in possession for the purpose of preventing it from causing damage or of restoring it to its owner, a person is not a keeper of it by virtue only of that possession.
(5) Where a person employed as a servant by a keeper of an animal incurs a risk incidental to his employment he shall not be treated as accepting it voluntarily.
7 Detention and sale of trespassing livestock
7.--(1) The right to seize and detain any animal by way of distress damage feasant is hereby abolished.
(2) Where any livestock strays on to any land and is not then under the control of any person the occupier of the land may detain it, subject to subsection (3) of this section, unless ordered to return it by a court.
(3) Where any livestock is detained in pursuance of this section the right to detain it ceases—
(a) at the end of a period of forty-eight hours, unless within that period notice of the detention has been given to the officer in charge of a police station and also, if the person detaining the livestock knows to whom it belongs, to that person; or
(b) when such amount is tendered to the person detaining the livestock as is sufficient to satisfy any claim he may have under section 4 of this Act in respect of the livestock; or
(c) if he has no such claim, when the livestock is claimed by a person entitled to its possession.
(4) Where livestock has been detained in pursuance of this section for a period of not less than fourteen days the person detaining it may sell it at a market or by public auction, unless proceedings are then pending for the return of the livestock or for any claim under section 4 of this Act in respect of it.
(5) Where any livestock is sold in the exercise of the right conferred by this section and the proceeds of the sale, less the costs thereof and any costs incurred in connection with it, exceed the amount of any claim under section 4 of this Act which the vendor had in respect of the livestock, the excess shall be recoverable from him by the person who would be entitled to the possession of the livestock but for the sale.
(6) A person detaining any livestock in pursuance of this section is liable for any damage caused to it by a failure to treat it with reasonable care and supply it with adequate food and water while it is so detained.
(7) . . . . . . .