(quoted from post at 17:49:07 07/02/14) I've got a hay meadow that borders the neighbor's pasture. years ago we ran cattle, but now only maintain the land for hay. His cows are constantly getting thru the fence into my hay meadow. I call him and he patches it and then the same day they're back on me again. What does a neighbor do????? Located in Texas.
n Texas long, long ago it was 'free range' and the rule was if you don't want cattle on your property it was up to the property owner to fence them out, BUT those days are long, long gone. NOW, it is "fence them in". In your case, it is his responsibility by law to keep his cattle in. I keep mine fenced in, but have good neighbors & we share installing/maintaining the fence between us. He likes to keep his in, too. It has to be an awfully good fence if both parties have cattle with one or two bulls involved. Even you without cattle, if they can reach thru that fence to green, it is usually a lost battle. Plow a boundary along fence so they can't reach the green or Roundup a buffer zone. Once in there, they remember enough to want to return, too.
FROM the COUNTY EXTENSION OFFICE:
Open range — fences keep livestock off your property
Open range means the county has never held a local stock option election within the county; therefore the county is “open range.” Chapter 143 of the Texas Agriculture Code allows a county, or portion of a county, to decide by local option election whether to prohibit certain classes of livestock from running at large in the locality.
In open range counties, property owners are required to build and maintain a fence that is sufficient to keep livestock off their property. However, this does not exempt livestock owners from damages that may be caused by trespassing livestock. Even though a county is open range, livestock are not permitted to roam or traverse unattended along a U.S. or state highway. A livestock owner may be charged with a Class C misdemeanor for allowing his or her livestock to do so.
Closed range — fences keep livestock on your property
Closed range means that at some point the entire county or a precinct, or designated area within the county, held a local stock option election and has adopted a stock law. Usually the stock law, or closed range, means you are responsible for fencing in your livestock. ("In 1917, the citizens of Rains County voted to make Rains County a “closed range”.----my place)