i own cows and take good care of them,but there is a man down the road with 14 teen head of cows ,and thy get out about evey night,when thy come down to my place his bull and my bull fight and the next day i have to fix fence , this has been going on for a long time,i have called the law and thy have seen them out and have help me put his cows back on his land, but this is getting old if you no what i mean. some people that live on this road have to fence there yard and put a gate up on there drive ways to keep his cows out of ther yard.these cows have been a pain in the butt .what would you do? it dont seem like the law cares , and im tried of fixing my fence, i would like to shoot his cows but it not cows worng its the owner.he dont even have a fence to keep them in, most of his fence is on the ground.if anyone has been throw this tell me what you did.
Answers:
the above answers are right on! However, rather then compiling the expenses and running to file a claim, why not write a courteous letter, and tell the neighbor of how much damage you figure that he has caused through his negligence as of now, and tell him that you really hate to take a neighbor to court, but if it is the only way to keep his cattle out of your pasture, you will have no other choice..AND the expenses will continue to compound..Offer to meet over coffee, and see if together you can figure a way to keep the cows home..
I, too have had similar neighbor problems, and realize the problems that do arise when you make your neighbor an enemy.
Actually, one neighbor, we helped repair the fencing, and another, I gave his kids riding lessons, and they became much more neighborly neighbors..
Be sure to keep a copy of the letter, so. if needed for court, you can show that you have tried to work it out..
It would seem that you have a very serious issue here. I would suggest keeping track of all of the damage his cows inflict on your property and then let him know how much he owes you. If he still does nothing, then keep track some more and take him to small claims court. If you can prove to the judge that his negligence caused your property to be damaged, then the judge may force him to pay. In the end, you might be able to legally take his cows as payment for the fence! Good luck!
%26lt;>If you have spoken to local law enfocement and they have done nothing, hire a lawyer. Collect records of all the expenses this man's irresponsible behavior has cost you (fence repairs, lost wages, vet bills, etc.)- anything that can be contributed directly to his negligence, including dates and times of the incidents, and sue him for reimbursement of expenses and costs. That should get his attention. Also, contact the local SPCA or other animal group and file regular reports about his actions. Eventually, someone will move to confiscate his animals for failure to maintain them.
I would check with a lawyer and see if this would get you into more trouble but:
When the cows get on your land, keep them in a pen and feed them. Keep really good records, then charge the guy a "kennel fee" and "feeding fee" for taking care of his cows. Also, a fee for fixing the fence, including materials and labor. Tell him you won't release the cows until he pays up.
I would tell the guy ahead of time that is what you are going to do. Maybe that would give him incentive to fix his own fences.
Do check with a lawyer, though, because this may be totally illegal. But, there might even be some "finders keepers" clause in the law, which would allow you to keep the cows.
Make sure your neighbor isn't a total psychopath though, and would come shooting you for "stealing" his cows.
Good luck. We have dairy cows, so I can sympathize with your problems.
talk to your lawyer and ask them to send this man a letter stating if he does not keep his cattle at home on his land, that you will charge him or dangering you animals. and drivers life's. and you will seek payment of the broken fences everytime his cattle break the fence. and if he does not do this, you will ring your local rcpsa, or animal ponds.. depending on were you are, and they will come out and take his cattle because he is not look after them well enough, meaning keeping them in a paddock were there not dangering others.. hoped i helped..
I heard of a guy that had the same problem. I don't think what he did was exactly legal, but it was funny. He loaded them all up in a trailer and hauled them about 40 miles then turned them loose. As far as I know that did the trick!
Have you ever talked to him about it? If you haven't, I'd talk to him first. If that doesn't work, then I'd send a certified letter and make a copy of it. Also, I would probably take record and take pictures of all the damage that his cows have done. Not only take pictures of the damage, but also of the cows showing them out and roaming around. Record the dates and number of times they got out, what all you fixed, how much it cost you, etc. I'm a person that believes you should only file a lawsuit if you really have to and after trying all other reasonable means. When and if you do have to file a lawsuit it is really good to have all of the evidence and facts lined up nice and neatly. Dates, costs, pictures, time required to make repairs, receipts, etc should all be accounted for. It might also be a good idea to get a list of neighbors to sign a statement that his cows getting out are causing a regular nuisance so that it is not just your word against his. It's your word, your neighbors' word, and all the evidence you have against his word.
If you file a lawsuit you want to show that you were reasonable to your neighbor. You tried talking to him, after that didn't work, you sent him a letter (certified to prove you sent it) to warn him. After that finally didn't work, you finally filed a lawsuit.
Don't shoot his cows. If you do, there is the possible chance that you might have to pay reimbursement for the cow, especially if the cow is not on your property when you shoot it and that could be very costly. Also don't hold his cows saying that you won't give them back till he fixes his fence like he should. You don't want to take the law into your own hands. It won't look good if you file a lawsuit.
Contact the law again and ask what animal control ordinances are on the books. They should have something on the books regarding the proper care of livestock. And livestock running at large.
If you have a local animal control agency contact them. And file a complaint.
The only other thing is to take them to court and have them pay for your fence every time this happens. He will get the hint and fix his own fence.
Call your local law enforcement and animal control. And be persistant. Keep track of damage with photos and repair receipts. Also get photos of his aminals on your property. When taking photos set the date imprint correctly,if you have it, and have someone else in the photo near the camers holding the front page of that days paper for date accuracy. You may have to take this person to court if things can't be resolved on your own. I have been in this situation and had to go to court. Not fun but accurate photos with date imprint and newspaper were the best evidence. Good Luck.
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