The laws relating to your problem can vary from state to state. You should check with your local authorities. If the cattle owner has a history of his cattle running loose and causing damage it can make a difference in what recourse you have (in Kansas anyway).
At any rate, he may have insurance which will cover the damages. Hopefully.
In Kansas, if he doesn't corral his cattle, you can corral them yourself and send him a bill for feed and damages which must be paid. After so many days (not sure the number) you can sell his cattle, deduct your expenses and send him the remainder.
As a farmer and cattleman myself, I agree that "expect livestock to escape from time to time". However, this is not something a responsible livestock owner will allow to happen very often, and if it does, every attempt should be made to maintain good neighbors, as well as good fences. Most cattlemen I know would make every attempt to corral the cattle immediately, and to reimburse you for any and all damage.

Good Luck.

Has the Sheriff been notified? I would start there. Loose cattle is illegal, dangerous to road traffic, damaging property. We have a Posse who works with them on things like loose cattle in large areas.

I would be getting my own unbiased opinion in to estimate on repairs needed and the costs, time needed. This is so I have bills I can present to this man. I would also call a couple local nursery folks to price trees the same size, cost to install, for replacing what was damaged. I would have those costs in my hand to add to the other billing. Relax, what has been done can be repaired, should be at his cost.

I am really sorry about your yard, garden and pond. I too,would be very upset if some cows came wandering into my yard and wrecked things. Cows can't help what they are, need to be cared for, contained. Then to get the "ATTITUDE" from owner!! Wow, what a pain in the backside for a neighbor!

Perhaps you have a lawyer who wouldn't cost a mint, that would make the calls for you. Hearing from a lawyer, many folks really jump to when legal action is imminent. Lawyer would also aid you to recieve your just reimbersment for damages and repairs. Man might need to sell a cow or two to pay for those bills you hand him.

I would have a contractor do the repair work, not man with cows "fixing it up" for you. Just reduce the aggravation factor. Contractor would get work done, do it correctly to suit you, in a timely manner.

Sweetpea,

Goodhors is right, Dont try to solve this by yourself at this point. You contacted them, and you got their response. It doesn't seem like they are concerned about you, or their cattle.

Document everything as it happens. Try to recall times, dates, discription of cattle including numbers, what you did, what they did (including damages). Make a list of the cost to replace/repair what has been damaged. You could call a repairman to also get another estimate.

Once you have this information at hand, notify the local sherriff department and ask them to send out someone to take your report. ( ask for a copy of the report if you can get it - this is so you will know exactly how it was written, they sometimes don't get it right). Then tell the authorities that you want to file a report for the damages. They will have to go talk to the neighbors. They might be upset, but they will know that they have to be responsible for their cattle.

Good fences make good neighbors, and if his fence is not good, he is not either. If it is only an electric fence, that is usually good enough IF the fencer is working and is properly grounded. Apparently something is wrong. Ask the sherriff to check on the water supply, maybe they need more than the owner is providing.

The laws protect all of us, and in this case, you had damage and are entitled to compensation for it. If you don't report it, there is no paper trail. If you don't get any compensation, at least you have the paper trail, and the next time it happens, you can add it to the last.

You are not a bad neighbor for doing this,merely a concerned neighbor, who has a right to have your property protected.

Weedyone

I've had 2 experiences with loose livestock. A neighbor got a new herd of Cashmere goats that roamed for a week before settling down. Nobody really minded, and they spent most of the time standing on the owners front porch. A few years ago, though, my husband saw two huge steer wandering in the street. He called the cops, and they took it very seriously, showing up quickly with the owner. Confused 1000+ pound animals are a serious road hazard.

Your neighbor is taking a huge liability risk by being so lax. I agree with the other posters... document the damage and get in touch with the sheriff or the animal control officer. Get an estimate for damage repair, and present it to the owner. Believe me, if those cows get hit by a car and the driver/passengers are injured or killed, the bill to repair your pond will be the smallest one the owner gets.

I'm pretty sure here in WA that you can hold the animals until the damage is paid for. Or you can sell some of the stock to pay for damage. It is best to call the sheriff and get things started. Yea we all expect livestock to escape at times but it seems it is always the same person having the escaping animals. Tom

Actually, when I re-read your story, I think your neighbor might be doing the best he can do in the situation. It isnÂt easy to catch a roaming cow and a portable corral is a pretty good idea. Is this the first time its happened to you? It might not be a bad idea to extend a helping hand. One of the wonderful things about living in the country is having a good neighbor to rely on. You may make good friends, or perhaps he may pull you out of the ditch sometime. Even a neighbor who is a bit lax on his fencing may have other very good qualities.

I agree with hoghaven, if this is the first time his cattle have gotten out and onto your property I'd wouldn't call the sherif on him. If he's offered to pay you for damages give him the benifit of the doubt. Also calling the police the first time someones cattle get out is liable to give you a reputation of being a crabby town person among the "real" farmers. Before you escalate this you need to decide how much getting along with your neighbor is worth to you. You may be able to hire a lawyer and get him to pay for a contractor to replace some pine trees and clean up the poop, but is that going to be worth the bad feelings that come along with it?

My advice is let this one slide, graciously take what he gives you, and if this kind of thing becomes a habit with him then you'll be more than justified when you act more drastically.

In some areas, it is as much the responsibility of a landowner to fence animals OUT as it is for the animal owners to fence them IN. You should know if this is the case in your jusisdiction. Check with your municipal office.

Knowing your rights and responsibilities is not the same thing as insisting they be enforced to the letter of the law. There needs to be a lot of give and take in any neigbourhood. A gracious attitude will get you a long way. I am sure that the owner of the cattle was far more distressed than you about their escape, even if he doesn't show it to you.

Thats your property, if it's not a state or federal owned animal, shoot and enjoy the profit/lose :) It does seem that the laws lean towards the "wrong" and just adds to the econemy, of our having to fence/lock/gated/you choose the rest, but thats the way it is... You can always plead ignorance, thats expected in most courts... LOL

What you can do depends on whether you are in a grange area or not. If you are in a grange area, livestock being loose is ok. For instance, if you hit a cow on a road in a grange area, you have to pay the cow's owner for damages and/or value of the animal. If you hit a cow outside of the grange area, the owner pays your damages.

As sorry as I feel for you, I do agree that in a rural setting, animals will get out. Even with the best fences/maintenance/etc., someone will eventually leave a gate open, a tree will fall or lightning will knock out a charger. If you are concerned about certain animals, or animals damaging/destroying certain parts of your property, you really need to fence that portion of your property off to protect it. This is the difference between city living and country living.

One of my friends horses got out went on the highway and got hit and killed. The driver sued for 9 million dollars settled for 4 million. My friend lost her horse, owed lawers 18 thousand dollars and can't get homeowners insurance from anyone. In CA it is better to have good fences.

Acorn, the moral of that story, don't live in CA. Although those numbers seem right, hitting a horse has got to put a dent in the fender.

It sounds to me like he wants to make right, small pine trees will grow in a year or two, and cow patties make okay fertilizer, and if he wants to bring in a non-biased third party then welcome it, it takes the burden of figuring out the price off of you, just make sure its someone who knows how much ponds cost.

Consider closing your gate. If it was closed the cattle would have gone somewhere else. If my cattle got into someone's fenced 30+ acre woodlot I don't know what I'd do.
It is part of country living. He also owes you for the plant materials.

In our area, there is a 12 year running feude where a crumbling fenceline has gotten the folks on each side up in arms. Dogs and cattle have been shot. The police have been called numerous times.

The judge decided that each owner should split the cost of putting up new fence, a good solid fence that will contain ALL the critters. The fence will be jointing owned and maintained. it will run on the boundry line of both properties.

For a long term solution, that makes sense to me! Sooo instead of suing for damages, you may want to help the guy put up a good fence, so he will be a good neighbor.

I have a common fenceline with a neighbor, he has cattle and I have horses. We have run two tapes lines of electric fence on our side. We are hopeing to get the same agreement with our neighbor!

Unfortunately, in AZ,(at least in my part) if you don't want livestock on your land you have to fence them out...old grazing rights or something. We have had to do so after we had huge bulls eating our dog and chicken feed (bull literally on our back porch eating my dog's food), drinking all my animal's water and destroying three fruit trees. I was also very concerned about letting my children out to play. They were HUGE animals! Such is country life! Good luck!