“Open range laws” generally refer to laws defining areas where livestock owners need not use fencing to contain their animals upon specific areas of land. Sections 17121 through 17128 are the important statutes addressing open range laws and livestock fencing.Generally, this involves showing that there was inadequate or improper fencing, gates, barn structures, or other methods of penning and controlling the animal’s movements that allowed it to escape onto the road. It is still necessary to prove that the owner unreasonably did or failed to do something – that is, that they were negligent – that allowed the animal to find its way onto the road. In other words, the animal’s presence on the road cannot automatically lead to an assumption that its owner had been negligent.
Section 16904 directly addresses liability in livestock versus motor vehicle collisions by stating that in any civil lawsuit brought by a driver, passenger, or owner of a motor vehicle involved in such an incident that there is no automatic presumption of negligence on the part of the livestock owner simply because the animal was on the roadway.This section establishes a duty on the livestock owners’ part to properly control their animals. An exception is made when the animals are being controlled or directed by someone who is tending them. Section 16902 states that livestock owners may not intentionally or negligently allow livestock to be upon or wander onto a public highway if both sides of the road are separated from fences, walls, hedges, sidewalks, curbs, lawns, or buildings.The statutes related to open range laws and livestock fencing are in sections 17121 through 17128 of the Food and Agriculture Code. Laws Generally Related to Livestock-Vehicle AccidentsĪmong these statutes that define a livestock owner’s responsibilities related to potential livestock-vehicle accidents and the personal injuries and other damages that may result are sections 1694 of the California Food and Agriculture Code. Among the most important factors to consider is the relationship between open range laws and livestock accidents.
There are several laws and court rulings that govern establishing liability for these personal injury claims in California.
#CATTLE RANGE LAWS DRIVER#
Running into one can have deadly consequences for the driver and occupants of a vehicle. As unfortunate and sad as the resulting collision may be for the animal, it’s important to consider that a full-grown cow or horse may weigh several hundred pounds. Additionally, many people raise and own horses for sport and pleasure riding, as well as a few as working animals “riding the range.” Occasionally, however, one of these animals may get loose and wander onto a roadway and into the path of a motor vehicle. California is a major agricultural state, and a large part of its agricultural sector involves the raising of livestock like beef cattle, dairy cows, sheep, goats, and other animals.
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