Neighbor's cattle in yard

   / Neighbor's cattle in yard #71  
Fence Law - National Agricultural Law Center

"All 50 states have enacted statutes that address issues of livestock running at large and the fences that may or may not be required to keep them confined. These “fence law” statutes can vary widely from state to state. Many states require owners of livestock to secure the livestock on property that they own or lease; however there are some western states that still follow the “open range” doctrine. The “open range” states reverse the duty to fence in livestock and allow livestock to roam in certain remote parts of the state while requiring other landowners to fence off their land if they wish to keep livestock off of their property"
 
   / Neighbor's cattle in yard #72  
Torvy is correct, Texas is an open-range state. The definition is below from the Texas A&M Agri-life Extension book on Texas fence laws. In an open-range county, the landowner is responsible for keeping livestock off his or her land by building a sufficient fence around the property. According to the Texas Supreme Court,“t follows that one who desires to secure his lands against the encroachments of livestock running at large, either upon the open range or in an adjoining field or pasture, must throw around it an [enclosure] sufficient to prevent the entry of all ordinary animals of the class intended to be excluded. If he does not, the owner of animals that may encroach upon it will not be held liable for any damage that may result from such encroachment.

Most counties can hold local elections to determine if the county is considered closed and the livestock owner has to fence in their livestock. Section 143.071 of the Texas Agriculture Code provides for process of holding an election for cattle and turkeys. Section 143.072 prevents 22 of the 254 counties from holding the election. Section 143.021 provides for the process of holding an election for horses, mules, jacks, jennets, donkeys, hogs, sheep, or goats are to be permitted to run at large in the county or area. Section 143.028 defines what is a sufficient fence under the law to keep out livestock in a closed county.

https://agrilifelearn.tamu.edu/s/pr...ide-to-fence-laws-in-texas/01t4x000004OUTdAAO

https://texasfarmbureau.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/FiveStrands_Bradbury-min.pdf

AGRICULTURE CODE CHAPTER 143. FENCES; RANGE RESTRICTIONS

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   / Neighbor's cattle in yard #73  
jaxs said:
This is clear cut case of cattle owner thinking the woman can't do anything about it so therefore he doesn't think it's necessary to do anything. The solution,contact someone with trailer and experience a distance form the lady to come haul a few to his place and keep them until notified. You run an ad in paper notifying To Whom It May Concern stray cows have been removed from public road and are awaiting owner to claim. If and when owner has lady in a corner she tells him to contact you. You tell him as part of your duty you hired someone to capture what they could and take them somewhere safe. The cowboy will be intitled to room and board. Now ! It isn't rustling. It isn't your,the lady's and cowboy's responsability to know who owns all the cows in the country. When he realizes women aren't totally helpless and can't be pushed around he will adjust his attitude.
Now to all the bs about open range and fence out laws. Get real,if that was true I could graze my cattle anywhere I dam please and noone could do a thing about it. We had a serious drought last year driving hay prices out of sight. On any day I can drive you around and show you thousands of round bales without a fence around them. How long do you think assertions about fence out law would hold up if my cows were caught munching someone else's hay? Chances are the cow owner in question has been talking to the same people that convinced you all people must fence cows out of their property or I can graze my cows on their place without paying. Think before you speak.
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Not to be too contrarian, but I think that you might want to brush up on your local laws. I would call your attention to Texas 146.05 that requires a permit to transport animals in Texas.
Section 142 covers what may be done and should be done regarding strays;

Just to be clear what you are advocating for the cowboy above would run into laws around here in reference to rustling as the "cowboy" would be in possession of cattle not provably his. Not his brand, and in his possession without a bill of sale. Even to transport cattle here requires brand inspection by the brand inspector before movement between different home ranges belonging to the same owner.

All the best,

Peter
 
   / Neighbor's cattle in yard #74  
WM75Guy said:
Most counties can hold local elections to determine if the county is considered closed and the livestock owner has to fence in their livestock. Section 143.071 of the Texas Agriculture Code provides for process of holding an election for cattle
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After reading close to, if not all, the posts in this thread I think the solution to @MHarryE ’s problem from a long term perspective as well as keeping himself out of jail or a civil suit is to find out if the state/county has an Estray law and get familiar with its enforcement processes. Here is part of what I posted earlier.

Does your county or state have an Estray law?

Sec. 142.003. DISCOVERY OF ESTRAY; NOTICE. (a) If an estray, without being herded with other livestock, roams about the property of a person without that person's permission or roams about public property, the owner of the private property or the custodian of the public property, as applicable, shall, as soon as reasonably possible, report the presence of the estray to the sheriff of the county in which the estray is discovered.
(b) After receiving a report under Subsection (a) of this section that an estray has been discovered on private property, the sheriff or the sheriff's designee shall notify the owner, if known, that the estray's location has been reported.
(c) After receiving a report under Subsection (a) that an estray has been discovered on public property, the sheriff or the sheriff's designee shall notify the owner, if known, that the estray's location has been reported, except that if the sheriff or the sheriff's designee determines that the estray is dangerous to the public, the sheriff or the sheriff's designee may immediately impound the estray without notifying the owner.
(d) If the owner does not immediately remove the estray:
(1) the sheriff or the sheriff's designee may proceed with the impoundment process prescribed by Section 142.009; or
(2) if a perilous condition exists, the sheriff or the sheriff's designee may proceed with disposition of the estray under Section 142.015.

If there is not an Estray law in his county or state then it might be a thing for him to bring up in the legislature.
 
   / Neighbor's cattle in yard #75  
In Montana you the property owner are responsible to fence livestock out.

However, in the absence of effective fencing, stabilized bean-bag shotgun shells may shorten the bovine learning curve...
 
   / Neighbor's cattle in yard #76  
MTGreen said:
In Montana you the property owner are responsible to fence livestock out.

However, in the absence of effective fencing, stabilized bean-bag shotgun shells may shorten the bovine learning curve...
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Not all of Montana. ;)

From here:

MSU Extension | Montana State University

MSU Extension is a statewide educational outreach network that applies unbiased, research-based university resources to practical needs identified by the people of Montana in their home communities.
apps.msuextension.org apps.msuextension.org

Most of Montana is classified as open range, but closed range exists within all incorporated cities and towns. Closed range also exists within unincorporated, rural areas designated as “herd districts.” Montana fence law allows county commissioners to create herd districts when a majority of land ownership in the proposed district petitions the county commissioners in favor of the new designation.

Within open range, one exception to fencing responsibility occurs with federal land boundaries. Livestock owners are responsible to prevent livestock from illegally trespassing onto federal land, including lands administered by the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management. Therefore, if your rural property adjoins federal land, and you do not have a federal livestock grazing permit or lease, you must fence the boundary or otherwise prevent your livestock from roaming onto federal land.

Most landowners in open range are not compelled by law to exclude livestock from their property. In fact, some landowners purposely do not fence out livestock from some or all of their property so that livestock grazing can reduce the threat of wildfire and so that fences do not impede wildlife travel or detract from aesthetics. Fencing along railroads, however, is required within open range. Montana law requires railroads to build and maintain fences along tracks to keep livestock out, and the railroad must pay fair market value for any livestock that get through the fence and are hurt or killed by trains. Where highways pass through open range, the Montana Department of Transportation has the option to construct fences along the highway rights of way where livestock may present a road hazard.

Finally, who owns and who maintains the boundary fence between you and a neighbor? If the fence is located on the property boundary, ownership and maintenance is shared equally. Each landowner is responsible for maintaining one half of the boundary fence. The portion designated for you to maintain is determined by standing at the midpoint of the shared boundary and looking toward your neighbor’s property. You maintain the half that is to your right.
 
   / Neighbor's cattle in yard
  • Thread Starter
#80  
I'm in shock. Pam called me this morning to say Brad's cows were in her yard again. For Northeastern MN, we have had a non winter. Right now we should have nearly 2 feet of snow remaining but we have scattered white patches in shady areas. She was chasing cows until 3 am. I took a chance as Chairman of the Town Board of Directors to ask the County Sheriff for help. Pam called a few minutes ago to say a deputy sheriff visited her to say he had just visited Brad and read him the riot act for having so many complaints. He gave him a warning for now, but if it continues they will get more severe. To get to Pam's, the cattle need to cross a county road. Pam lives at the bottom of the only hill we have in this flat township of Northern MN - many accident's there. Black Angus in the road coming around the bend at dark - I think that weighed in on the response too. Not that I think such a response should happen for isolated incidents - I'm also a farmer (but thankfully no longer have cattle - the cattlemen are my customers). We will now see if I survive this.
 
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