# Can an animal be DUI? And are you liable? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 4, 2011, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-animal-be-dui-and-are-you-liable/566352 "2011-01-04T12:48:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2011, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-animal-be-dui-and-are-you-liable/566352/21 "2011-01-04T19:27:46Z")
I can’t believe a thread with this kind of a topic winds up with a news link as a cite. Way to go, **kanicbird**. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2011, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-animal-be-dui-and-are-you-liable/566352/22 "2011-01-04T20:29:29Z")
> [@FasterThanMeerkats](#): > > What if Quickdraw McGraw accosted you in a dark alley, booze in hoof, and demanded that you ride him? After after you rode him, he demanded that you sit on his back and let him walk somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2011, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-animal-be-dui-and-are-you-liable/566352/23 "2011-01-04T20:55:20Z")
DUI? No. DUI requires “driving”, and driving requires a “motor vehicle”. It’s in the definition of the offense. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2011, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-animal-be-dui-and-are-you-liable/566352/24 "2011-01-04T21:23:20Z")
> [@Max\_Torque](#): > > DUI? No. DUI requires “driving”, and driving requires a “motor vehicle”. It’s in the definition of the offense. No, driving does not require a motor vehicle—or at least, it depends on how the law is worded in the jurisdiction in question. No doubt there are DUI laws which are worded in such a way as to prohibit operating any vehicle, such as a bicycle or horse-drawn carriage, while drunk. That said, when I first saw the thread title I imagined the question would be about criminal responsibility in the case where a drunken animal is behind the wheel of a car. A chimpanzee or other great ape could certainly drive a suitably modified car. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2011, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-animal-be-dui-and-are-you-liable/566352/25 "2011-01-04T21:48:02Z")
You can’t get busted, but you might [win an Oscar.](http://digilander.libero.it/guido_1953/pics/x-jane-fonda-2/x-lee-marvin-cat-ballou-film.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2011, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-animal-be-dui-and-are-you-liable/566352/26 "2011-01-04T22:08:59Z")
> [@Max\_Torque](#): > > DUI? No. DUI requires “driving”, and driving requires a “motor vehicle”. It’s in the definition of the offense. And that definition will be based upon the specific law(s) in the jurisdiction where it occurred. Of course, YHTMV (Your Horse Trots May Vary). ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2011, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-animal-be-dui-and-are-you-liable/566352/27 "2011-01-04T22:10:23Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > I can’t believe a thread with this kind of a topic winds up with a news link as a cite. Way to go, **kanicbird**. If only I’d known. You want links? [Here ya go](http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/03/elephants-drunken-rampage-india). Murderous drunken elephants. ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2011, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-animal-be-dui-and-are-you-liable/566352/28 "2011-01-04T22:34:00Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > You can’t get busted, but you might [win an Oscar.](http://digilander.libero.it/guido_1953/pics/x-jane-fonda-2/x-lee-marvin-cat-ballou-film.jpg) Darn you anyway. Missed the chance to post that reference by less than an hour. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2011, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-animal-be-dui-and-are-you-liable/566352/29 "2011-01-04T22:47:52Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > No, driving does not require a motor vehicle—or at least, it depends on how the law is worded in the jurisdiction in question. No doubt there are DUI laws which are worded in such a way as to prohibit operating any vehicle, such as a bicycle or horse-drawn carriage, while drunk.. One data point out of at least 51, NJ law says “a person who operates\*\* a motor vehicle\*\* while under the influence of intoxicating liquor, narcotic, hallucinogenic or habit-producing drug…” A motor vehicle is defined as ’ “Motor vehicle" includes all vehicles propelled otherwise than by muscular power, excepting such vehicles as run only upon rails or tracks and motorized bicycles." So no you can’t get a DUI on a horse in NJ. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2011, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-animal-be-dui-and-are-you-liable/566352/30 "2011-01-04T22:58:31Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > What if it wasn’t you that got the horse drunk in the first place? Maybe you just happened upon this drunken horse and decided to take it for a spin (confirmed by CCTV). That’s called horse stealing, or rustling. And in much of the western USA, that’s a far more serious charge than DUI. ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2011, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-animal-be-dui-and-are-you-liable/566352/31 "2011-01-04T23:18:58Z")
While I was looking for examples of what constituted a ‘vehicle’ under the Ohio law, I did find a case in which someone was unsuccessfully prosecuted for drunk horseback riding. The offense is defined here to include any vehicle (as well as those ubiquitous “trackless trolleys”). As I recall–it’s been a few years now–the judge concluded that a sober horse had more sense than a drunk rider, and was not a vehicle for purposes of the OVI law. I don’t recall any speculation as to drunk horses with sober riders, though. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2011, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-animal-be-dui-and-are-you-liable/566352/32 "2011-01-04T23:48:28Z")
I would imagine it would the equivalent of knowingly driving a non-roadworthy vehicle, rather than DUI. It could also, as **Scubaqueen** says, be treated as animal cruelty. ---
**Author:** ![Raygun99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Raygun99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raygun99)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2011, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-animal-be-dui-and-are-you-liable/566352/33 "2011-01-04T23:58:15Z")
What if you taught an orangutan to drive, then it got a hold of some whiskey… ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2011, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-animal-be-dui-and-are-you-liable/566352/34 "2011-01-04T23:59:50Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > How do you test if the animal was legally drunk? Is there a medical test available? Does the law account for animal DUI? Without the proper medical and legal framework in place, it’s not possible. As other have mentioned, however, your behavior and your treatment of the animal does fall within current law(s) and you could be charged accordingly. If you are a horse, and find yourself in this predicament, and the cops ask you to recited the alphabet backwards, whatever you do, don’t say “I couldn’t do that if I was sober!” ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2011, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-animal-be-dui-and-are-you-liable/566352/35 "2011-01-05T22:34:11Z")
> [@Raygun99](#): > > What if you taught an orangutan to drive, then it got a hold of some whiskey… In your scenario am I Clint Eastwood or not? ---
**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-animal-be-dui-and-are-you-liable/566352/36 "2011-01-06T12:37:00Z")
For a humourous novel involving drunken animals, including a horse, try [The Stray Lamb](http://www.amazon.com/Stray-Lamb-Thorne-Smith/dp/1406832936/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1294317205&sr=8-1) by Thorne Smith. Excellent fun! ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2011, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-animal-be-dui-and-are-you-liable/566352/37 "2011-02-13T00:20:19Z")
I’m bumping this thread because of [this](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1355227/Basil-stallion-The-horse-walks-bar-orders-pint.html) article about a horse that drinks beer. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2011, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-animal-be-dui-and-are-you-liable/566352/38 "2011-02-13T00:35:48Z")
> [@Sigmagirl](#): > > I’m sure there have been cases where animals have eaten grapes or corn that has fermented. Fermented apples are a favorite for many horses and similar animals, in fact. I’ve heard of people around here having to cut back apple trees that were near pasture fences specifically to limit the horses’ access to them. They would binge when they could. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-animal-be-dui-and-are-you-liable/566352/39 "2011-02-14T02:49:19Z")
And a family friend has a dairy farm, and noticed long ago that his cows really seemed to like the damp silage from the bottom of the silo. Of course, the amount of alcohol needed to get a horse drunk isn’t necessarily relevant, since there are other intoxicants. A horse might get into locoweed, for instance. ---
**Author:** ![ChrisBooth12](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@ChrisBooth12](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChrisBooth12)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-animal-be-dui-and-are-you-liable/566352/40 "2011-02-14T03:03:06Z")
> [@Sigmagirl](#): > > I’m sure there have been cases where animals have eaten grapes or corn that has fermented. If you see that a horse has done something like this and knowingly take advantage of it, I would think you are liable; a person who rides a horse must have _reasonable_ expectation that he is able to control the horse. Obviously, stuff happens; the horse might be frightened by something and react, but if you are riding the horse knowing that its reflexes are impaired, it’s your fault. There has a few years ago a bunch of birds were flying into windows in a city and no one knew why until they blood tested them and found alcohol in the blood. It was decided they were getting drunk off local berries [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-animal-be-dui-and-are-you-liable/566352.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-animal-be-dui-and-are-you-liable/566352.md?page=3)