Livestock laws are a collection of statutes that state legislatures have enacted over the years to regulate the ownership and control over various forms of livestock.
The days of the unregulated open range are long gone in most of America. Instead, modern society has a complicated set of laws to regulate the inter-relationship of livestock, people and property. Most states have a statute that defines what is a "legal fence." If a fence complies with the legal requirements, that protects the livestock owner from liability for damage done by a stray cow. Conversely, if the livestock of a neighbor damages crops, the right of the farmer to be compensated may depend upon whether his property was fenced in by a "legal fence." In other words, some states have "fence your livestock in" laws while others have "fence the livestock of others out" laws. Frequently, a single state will have both kinds of laws and make them available on an option basis by local election.
There are also complicated
regulations that speak to the question what are the legal
rights and duties of the parties when stray livestock are captured by
someone other than
the owner. Who may keep them, for how long, and with what
responsibility for seeking out
the true owner? What happens if the owner cannot be found after a
reasonable period of
time? Can the "taker up" of the stray force the owner to pay for the
(Scroll down to view state statutes.)
There often are statutes that
regulate the obligations of livestock owners to keep
their livestock off of public highways and that provide for liability
wander onto the public road and collide with a motor vehicle.
Finally, there are lengthy provisions in the laws regulating fences that run along property lines. How is the cost of construction and maintenance to be allocated between the owners? What should happen if one owner wants and need a fence, while the owner of the adjoining property does not? Frequently, statutes provide for a local committee, called "fence viewers" to examine the situation and to allocate responsibility for these types of fences.
The related topic of identifying livestock by brands is dealt with in a separate segment: Brand Laws.
Livestock Laws were first posted in the middle 1990s. They were reviewed and updated as needed in December 2001. Posted December 15, 2001.
All states have some form of livestock laws.