The parties disputed the scope and extent of a reservation to the respondent’s father in an Act of Parliament of ‘all rights of hunting, shooting, fishing and fowling’ over certain specified land which had been owned by the respondent’s father and later came into the ownership of the appellant.
Held: Lord Campbell LC described the sporting rights in question as being ‘an interest in the realty which is well known to the law’. He went on to say: ‘The property in animals ferae naturae while they are on the soil belongs to the owner of the soil and he may grant a right to others to come and take them by a grant of hunting, shooting, fowling and so forth; that right may be granted by the owner of the fee simple, and such a grant is a licence of a profit a prendre.’
Judges:
Lord Campbell LC
Citations:
(1859) 7 HLC 331
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Borwick Development Solutions Ltd v Clear Water Fisheries Ltd CA 1-May-2020
Only Limited Ownership of pond fish
BDS owned land with closed fishing ponds. They sold the land to the respondents, but then claimed that the fish, of substantial value, were not included in the contract. The court as asked whether the captive fish were animals ferae naturae or . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Land, Animals
Updated: 22 November 2022; Ref: scu.650623