Livestock liability

[Xandras_Zoo]

Not something that I am dealing with, but was just curious about.

What happens if you have, say, a bull and someone climbs your fence and trespasses, and the bull kills them?

I know with dogs oftentimes the dog owner is found liable even if the person had to climb a 10' barbed wire fence to get in with the dog.

Is it something that you just hope doesn't happen, or is the law different regarding livestock?

[EDDIE BUCK]

Most of the time,the owner is responsible,but it could go either way.Depends if neglect on the owners part can be proven. As far as your bull killing someone on your land,seems like an open an shut case in your favor.The person tresspassed on your land and went inside the bulls pen.I think most jurys would support the bulls owner and find him not guilty.But there are lawyers that will sway the jury into believing, you should have had "NO TRESSPASSING" and "DANGER BULL PEN, DO NOT ENTER"signs posted.Also if the victim was Mexican you need those signs written in Spanish as well. If they want you bad enough,they can find something to charge you with,making it stick is up to the jury,and how lowdown the prosecutor is willing to go. I remember back a few years some large paper companies were being charged for allowing tresspassers to come on their land and getting killed by running through cables that crossed their roads to stop tresspassers.So you never know what will happen.Just my opinion though,, Eddie buck

[Callieslamb]

I don't know about bulls, but my insurance lady told me that my bees needed to be behind a fence WITH the warning statement -even if the neighbor kid, who was messing with them can't read.

Just another sign of what kind of world we are becoming.

[Dodgegal79]

Yeah as long as a sign is up they can't do much about it really.

[Shygal]

Ive heard if you put a warning sign up that makes you MORE liable because it proves you know said animal is a danger, etc.

[houndlover]

In most places, a sign doesn't limit your liability in any way. What you have is an "attractive nuisance", if you have property, livestock, structures, or something like a well known fishing river - anything that may attract children and cause them to be in danger (or in many cases, adults who should know better). Most homeowner's policies have a limited amount of coverage. On our farm, we carry a million dollar umbrella policy, which really isn't that expensive, and it makes us feel a little less worried about losing the farm because some idiot decides to trespass. Ask your insurance agent.

[Bfly Farmer]

Some states already have laws in place to protect the farmers from trespassers. For example here in Virginia, the farmer is not liable if a LGD injures a person who is threatening their livestock.

Also, this might fall under some of the agritourism laws where the farmer is not liable if someone is injured due to their own actions. We simple have to have a sign posted with the regulation to be covered.

Then again, to be safe, we have a double fenceline that is electrified.

[Cotton Picker]

Hi Xandra,

Here's a link to the BC Livestock Act:

http://www.bclaws.ca/Recon/document/....xml#section11

There is a provision for getting a permit for the establishment of a Bull Control Area, which allows a Grazier (a person who grazes cattle at large under the Range Act) to allow a bull to run at large with their cows.

Here's a link to the Manitoba Animal Liability Act:

http://web2.gov.mb.ca/laws/statutes/ccsm/a095e.php

BC may have similar laws on the books. You might wish to contact the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, for the purpose of ascertaining just what BC laws are regarding personal liability for injury caused by a bull that was not at large.

http://www.gov.bc.ca/al/index.html

Hope this helps

[VOR.]

I don't know what the applicable laws are in my area, but I know the sheriff, judge and a jury in my county would come down on the side of the land owner. I live in cattle country. The ranchers bring in the $ to the county. We are not going to do anything to jeopardize that.

[kruizeag]

The courts recently ruled in favor of the trespassers from Mexico that the Arizona Rancher detained on his property. Mind you it wasn't an injury resulting situation, only a "unlawful detention", but it is something we all need to be concerned about if the trespasser has more rights than the land owner.

Here in Virginia, we recomment posting your property with "No Trespassing" signs to make it known you are not welcome on the property. That is enough to serve as notice to the trespasser so that you can have them arrested or get warrants for Trespass.

Most states have laws protecting livestock from others actions or their dogs actions. I am familiar with a case out of Morris County NJ in the early 90's where a farmer had killed two dogs attacking his sheep. The dog owners sued the farmer and WON! The farm was in a rural area, but surrounded by housing developments. The judge said that the law saying he could shoot the dogs was outdated and no longer applies.

[Helena]

We have the typical small homestead animals. Goats, horses chickens etc. We do carry with our insurance company a policy called.. Farm Owners insurance. We only have 4 acres of land..no big farm. It is like homeowners and only cost a small amount more and it protects us against law suits if any problems occur. Just what if..the kids down the road come over and the goats get out and eat the neighbors laundry or horses nip them while they are feeding them carrots or my worry is if the horses get loose and cause a car accident and people are injured because of my horses !! Check into this type of policy for peace of mind it is worth it too us. Good Luck !!

[Common Tator]

We don't have a standard homeowners policy. We have a farm/ranch insurance policy, and our horses and goats are listed in the policy as our livestock. We are covered for te liability posed by our livestock under this policy.

[Pops2]

it just shows we're that much closer to needing to hang some legislators, lawyers & judges.

[wally]

In Kansas if you come on my land and my dogs eat you or my bull kills you to bad on you..we dont post and as long as the ground is not leased for hunting the state will protect you as a landowner,Wally

[scgirl]

[QUOTE=kruizeag;3638081]The courts recently ruled in favor of the trespassers from Mexico that the Arizona Rancher detained on his property. Mind you it wasn't an injury resulting situation, only a "unlawful detention", but it is something we all need to be concerned about if the trespasser has more rights than the land owner.



This is a bit misleading. He's charged for holding them at gunpoint and kicking one woman. Personally, I agree he should be able to hold them at gunpoint, but to kick, curse and belittle them seems a bit much, though, I have never been in his shoes.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationwo...,5153175.story

[Yvonne's hubby]

In our area most of our judges and legal folks still use a bit of common sense. Someone caught tresspassing is the bad guy, whether they are caught by the police, the landowner or the bull. Dogs are the exception to this, dogs have free run of the land. This dates back to the days when hunting dogs were used to help feed the families, coon hunters still have the right to run thier dogs, and land owners just have to put up with them. Somehow dogs dont seem to know where boundaries are, and they have trouble reading the no trespassing signs.

[edcopp]

Originally Posted by Xandras_Zoo

Not something that I am dealing with, but was just curious about.

What happens if you have, say, a bull and someone climbs your fence and trespasses, and the bull kills them?

I know with dogs oftentimes the dog owner is found liable even if the person had to climb a 10' barbed wire fence to get in with the dog.

Is it something that you just hope doesn't happen, or is the law different regarding livestock?

In the case that you mention it is unlikely that the idiot who crawled over the fence, will ever do that again. Problem solved

[foxtrapper]

No simple answer. You're dealing with an attractive nuisance, forseeability, and several other complex and convoluted legal definitions.

Too far oversimplify it, if it's forseeable that someone would come into your field to play with your pretty bull, you've got to take dramatic measures to ensure they can't. Failure to do so makes you liable.

Now enter the lawyers. They can, and do, have a field day arguing how forseeable it is, how dramatic your measure were and were not, how attractive a bull is, etc.

[DQ]

a few years ago at my former place of employment (a riding stable) a young girl from the surrounding neigborhood climbed a 6' privacy fence into a paddock where she was kicked in the head and found some time later (by my clients horse). she lived but had severe damage to her frontal lobe and will never ever be the same. the stables have been there for generations, the housing developments surrounded it . the stables are completely fenced with statments regarding liability laws/equine activities are inherently dangersous blah blah as well as 'patrons only' signs. what else could they do? parents sued anyway. insurance tried to refuse to pay. long story short.....the people that got the money.....were the lawyers. so remember even if the law is on your side that won't stop somebody from dragging through hell over something like this.

[EDDIE BUCK]

Originally Posted by Yvonne's hubby

Somehow dogs dont seem to know where boundaries are, and they have trouble reading the no trespassing signs.

LOL,when we used to have coonhounds or foxhounds forsale and a potential buyer comes out to hear the dog run and the dog is barking good on track and then he hushes.Most of the time the would be buyer will ask,Why ain't the dog barking?Then without cracking a smile and say,"He's hushed long enough to get across that posted land. LOL,some folks believe it,an say OH. Eddie Buck