POLICE POWER 29 



an animal infected with a commnnicable disease 

 may be assessed damages by a court if through his 

 negligence the disease spreads to other animals 

 of his neighbors.^ 



19. Nuisance Per Se, and In Posse. A nuisance 

 per se is one which is essentially a nuisance. A 

 mad dog is such a nuisance. It should be abated 

 without question. A nuisance in posse is one 

 which may be a nuisance according to circum- 

 stances. A manure pile has a commercial value 

 in some communities, and it may exist without 

 endangering any person or property. When it is 

 located in a city, and is so maintained as to breed 

 flies and rats, it becomes in fact or in esse a 

 nuisance, and as such should be abated. A rat 

 is always a nuisance per se, and should be extermi- 

 nated. An animal infected with a communicable 

 disease which is curable is a nuisance, but not 

 one per se. As such it may properly be so guarded 

 as to prevent the spread of the disease, but the 

 officer would not be justified in ordering its de- 

 struction, unless its value were insignificant as 

 comjjared with the expense of quarantine. Be- 

 cause a nuisance per se is a public danger, it has 

 no value, and there can be no property right 

 therein. A nuisance in posse has a value often- 

 times, and there may be a property right therein 

 which must be respected. The building used for 

 an illicit liquor traffic is a nuisance in esse; that 

 is as used it is a nuisance, but the nuisance is not 

 in the building itself, but in its use. The building- 

 may be put to other uses, and on that ground the 

 court might not justify its destruction. 

 9 Public Health, Chap. VTII. 



