Loose Cattle Creating Big Problems

Dec. 13--It's been 37 years since South Dakota repealed its open-range law, which allowed livestock owners to let their animals roam freely without gates or fences.

But regional sheriffs know cattle can get out despite the owners' best the efforts to keep them off the roadways and out of the neighboring properties.

But that doesn't mean ranchers can skip out on maintaining their fences and gates.

In other words, there's a standard cattle producers must meet when it comes to keeping their animals where they're supposed to be.

A livestock owner cannot intentionally allow the animals to wander off his or her property. And if the owner is responsible for the fences that enclose the animals and fail to maintain them, he or she can be held liable for damage caused to another's property or the cost of medical bills if a person is injured after crashing into a cow on a road.

According to the state Department of Agriculture website, the owner of domestic animals such as cattle is not liable for injuries for them being at large unless he or she knows the animals are vicious or should have reasonably anticipated there would be injury from them being at-large on the highway.

"Courts look to the facts of each case and consider the character of the road, the kind of traffic thereon, the time of day, and all other pertinent facts and the surrounding conditions to determine whether the farmer or rancher should have reasonably anticipated the danger," the website states in regards to agriculture laws.

Those factors could be considered by a judge in a Davison County case from October where a man was killed and several people were injured in a crash involving two vehicles and a group of loose cattle on Interstate 90.

Different sheriffs, different solutions

Owners of cattle in Faulk County who repeatedly fail to meet that standard get put on Sheriff Kurt Hall's "animal-out list."

"It seems like it's the same few names over and over on the list. It's more than you think. There are a select few that are every week and every month," Hall said. "People from out of county will have land or rent pasture in Faulk County, bring their cows in spring and don't come back until fall. They're just not keeping an eye on them.

"When you have cattle, you should be out checking on them. For as much livestock as we have in Faulk County, it's very few names, but (the complaints) are numerous. Some of those people on that list don't even live here. That also causes a lot of havoc with neighbors -- a lot of their corn fields and crops get damaged because these cattle are grazing other farmers' crops."

Potter County Sheriff Curtis Hamburger keeps a list, as well, though not on paper.

"We don't have anything other than what state law is. We have a mental list of those we've had issues with," Hamburger said.

His approach doesn't lack physical effort when it comes to cattle on the loose.

"Usually, I carry a lariat. I push them back in the fence. I'll try to get a hold of the owner, but if they're not available sometimes it's just easier for me to put them myself," Hamburger said.

Hall said the Faulk County adopted an ordinance in 2013 that prohibits anyone from abandoning an animal or letting one run freely on public property or another's private land.

"It's deemed a public nuisance," Hall said.

The violation is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 30 days in jail and a $500 fine.

It's not very often Hall enforces the ordinance, but he said cattle owners can be held liable for damages their loose animals cause to crops or if they are struck by a vehicle. Hall said he will share documented information with insurance companies.

"We've had several insurance companies, like crop insurance companies, call us with a farmer where they've checked these crops and have had so many acres that have been damaged by so-and-so's cows. And the insurance company has to pay the farmer for the crops. (The insurance company) can turn around and recoup their expenses," Hall said.

The insurance companies can prove that the owner of the cattle repeatedly and negligently allowed their cattle to get loose by using documentation of past incidents, which is just what Hall's "animal-out list" accomplishes.

Insurance and the courts

Brad Engelhart, owner of Engelhart Farm and Crop Insurance in Aberdeen, said it's up to the small claims courts to decide who is responsible for damages when cattle get loose.

"Judges have different ideas about things. A lot of times, the insurance companies will just pay a claim without dealing with it. If you hit a cow on the road, it's all up to a judge. When you get into small claims court, the judge may say you're negligent for letting your cows get out, they may say you're negligent for running into a cow on the road," he said.

Delivery truck driver Charles Crabb, 35, of Aberdeen, was injured in October after crashing into a herd of loose cattle west of Leola on state Highway 10. He could try to take the livestock's owner to civil court. According to McPherson County Sheriff Dave Ackerman, the cattle belonged to Bieber Red Angus Ranch.

Nineteen cattle were killed in the crash.

"If livestock gets onto the neighbor's property, the neighbor will often end up suing them for it," Engelhart said. "If their livestock goes out and does damage, the owner might get their insurance dropped."

He said insurance companies usually understand that livestock occasionally get through fencing and into a neighbor's property.

In 2015, Brown County commissioners approved an amendment to a county ordinance dictating that intent or negligence needs to be shown before a citation is issued to a person who has loose animals.

The ordinance includes domesticated animals and pets, as well as livestock. The aim of the amendment was to target repeat offenders and not those who have one-time issues, according to American News archives.

'They're critters. They get out"

Brown County Sheriff Mark Milbrandt said the county bases its enforcement of loose livestock on state statute.

"If it keeps happening we'll write a citation for it. If the animal gets out and damages property, I keep the cattle and put a bond on whoever the owner is, and he pays the bond and the bond reflects the amount of damage," Milbrandt said.

Day County doesn't have an ordinance pertaining to cattle that are continually on the loose. But those who don't heed warnings to get their animals under control could still find themselves in legal trouble, Sheriff Barry Hillestad said.

"We haven't had anything for a couple of years now. We've had some deals in the past where we had a guy that wasn't taking care of his animals. We finally dealt with that through the animal neglect statute," Hillestad said.

"But they're critters. They get out every once in a while," he said.

Spink County has an ordinance requiring owners to keep their animals from getting into someone else's pasture or onto public property.

"We've used it a couple times for cattle being out," Spink County Sheriff Kevin Schurch said.

He said the latest case involved Rex Spear, of Ashton, who faces felony animal abuse charges.

Spear's cattle had been reported for trespassing on neighbors properties multiple times before he was charged with felony animal abuse.

Schurch now believes the cattle had continually escaped their enclosure in search of food or pasture to graze.

Authorities say they found 75 cattle in emaciated and starving conditions. The cattle were on Spear's property at 39002 161st St. in Spink County. Spear was arrested June 29 and has since been released after posting a $2,000 cash bond. He has pleaded not guilty.

Usually when cattle are on the loose, Schurch said, it's for more benign reasons.

"Cows are going to get out at some point or another unless you have super-great fences. We keep a list and know when someone calls from a specific area and know whose cattle they may be, and a call to the producer gets the cattle back in in a timely fashion," he said.

"If it becomes an issue we go out and visit with them and say they could be criminally charged, and nine times out of 10 that usually fixes the problem."

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