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. Sometimes what might appear to be a herd district is not. Signs are on the more important roads but usually not required. Highways often have signs announcing “entering open range,” but usually not a sign about leaving it.
However, it is not easy to tell what kind of area you are in. If rural land is part of a “herd district” they might have to fence in their cattle, reversing their rights. They have no legal protection of any kind, only potential liability.Īdverse weather such as fog, blinding snow, or black ice is no legal protection for motorists either.
CATTLE RANGE LAWS DRIVERS
Drivers going through a herd of cows must be very cautious. 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. 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.” You cannot sue for bodily harm or unlawful death of a person.Ī paved highway, even one with a county, state or federal designation, is no protection of your liability to not harm livestock. 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. It is the cow that has the rights, actually the cattle owner. This includes not only damage from trampling and consumption of gardens, shrubbery, trees, but also bodily injury to people.
Idaho, and some other states, are “fence out” states where livestock owners have complete immunity to damage claims from the acts of their livestock. It is also an issue to travellers who might injure or suffer injury from cattle, horses, or mules.Īs Idaho law defines it, ” Open range” means all uninclosed 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. 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. Urban folks have rarely heard of open range laws, but people who own land outside town in “open range” areas certainly have. They have a right to trample your property rights.
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