Rowe v Royal Zoological Society of South Australia INC.

Rowe (the applicant) brought proceedings against the Royal Zoological Society of South Australia Inc. (the respondent) in the Magistrates Court of South Australia. The applicant sought damages for personal injury sustained when she was bitten by a dingo while attending the respondent's zoo as a visitor. The applicant alleged that the respondent was negligent in its duty of care to visitors.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the respondent breached its duty of care to the applicant by failing to take reasonable steps to prevent the dingo from escaping its enclosure and causing injury to visitors. This involved considering the foreseeability of the dingo escaping and the reasonableness of the precautions taken by the respondent to prevent such an occurrence.

Judge Simpson found that the respondent had failed to discharge its duty of care. The court reasoned that the respondent, as the keeper of a dangerous animal, owed a high duty of care to its visitors. The evidence established that the dingo had previously attempted to escape its enclosure, and the respondent was aware of this propensity. Despite this knowledge, the respondent had not implemented adequate security measures to prevent a recurrence. The court concluded that the escape and subsequent attack were foreseeable and that the respondent had not taken reasonable steps to mitigate the risk, thereby breaching its duty of care to the applicant.