They have a right to trample your property rights. Some say they take even more than that-

Urban folks have rarely heard of open range laws, but people who own land outside town in “open range” areas certainly have. It is a long time and contentious issue that is heating up as more people own rural property they don’t intend to graze and especially when drought conditions prevail. It is also an issue to travellers who might injure or suffer injury from cattle, horses, or mules.

As Idaho law defines it, ” Open range” means all uninclosed [sic] lands outside of cities, villages and herd districts, upon which cattle by custom, license, lease, or permit, are grazed or permitted to roam.” Simply put, it means that if you own rural property in most of Idaho (and other western states) cattle owners can turn their livestock loose to eat whatever they choose on private property that is not fenced.

Idaho, and some other states, are “fence out” states where livestock owners have complete immunity to damage claims from the acts of their livestock. This includes not only damage from trampling and consumption of gardens, shrubbery, trees, but also bodily injury to people. It is the cow that has the rights, actually the cattle owner. If you harm the cow (livestock) in a collision with your vehicle, you will pay all the damages including injury or death of the cow or cattle. You cannot sue for bodily harm or unlawful death of a person.

A paved highway, even one with a county, state or federal designation, is no protection of your liability to not harm livestock. Idaho’s open range law also reads that no livestock owner “shall have the duty to keep such animal off any highway on such range, and shall not be liable for damage to any vehicle or for injury to any person riding therein, caused by a collision between the vehicle and the animal.”

The law allows cattle and sheep owners to drive their stock on paved highways and immunity from damage they cause, including negligence by the herders. Drivers going through a herd of cows must be very cautious. They have no legal protection of any kind, only potential liability.

Adverse weather such as fog, blinding snow, or black ice is no legal protection for motorists either.

If rural land is part of a “herd district” they might have to fence in their cattle, reversing their rights. However, it is not easy to tell what kind of area you are in. Highways often have signs announcing “entering open range,” but usually not a sign about leaving it. Signs are on the more important roads but usually not required.

Sometimes what might appear to be a herd district is not. Smart or responsible livestock owners in an open range area might well have their stock well pastured as a matter of choice while others let their stock scrounge whatever they can along roadsides, ditches, broken fences, and unfenced private land. If you have a “lawful fence”,* however, you are allowed to capture “estrayed” livestock on your land.

It is often conceived that open range applies only to cattle and sheep, but it often applies to horses, mules, asses, goats, and even chickens as well.

A herd district is created by the county commission, and it is one reason why these elections are of great importance to property owners.

Legality is not necessarily a true defence of one’s private property from livestock. There are situations, especially in droughts or overgrazing, where “lawful fences” seem to develop holes, repeatedly. People who have fenced their private springs also have problems with broken or cut fences when nearby open range grazed, watering places dry up. These situations are often flat out illegal trespass, but it is often hard to interest the sheriff in the offense.

It is often thought that livestock grazing and damage controversies apply only to public lands. As we see, private property is hardly exempt. Perhaps new laws are needed . . . would a “stand your ground law” do the trick?

The status quo is likely to continue. Change requires political organization by non-livestock property interests. Recently at a weekend outing a person who had rural property belabored me at length about the abuses he had suffered from livestock on his mostly unfenced property. I asked him about organizing his neighbors . . . “oh, that would be a lot of trouble for me.”

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* “Lawful fence.” A lawful fence, except as hereinafter provided, must be not less than four and one half feet (4 1/2′) high, and the bottom board, rail, pole or wire must not be more than twenty inches (20″) above the ground, and the space between the top and bottom board, rail, pole or wire must be well divided.