When driving or gardening within the great state of Arizona, you may question the true meaning of our “Open Range” laws. There is not one particular law that defines open range. Instead, the Arizona Department of Agriculture’s Arizona Revised Statutes (ARS) Title 3, Article 8 (No-Fence Districts) starts nine separate statutes on how you may collect damages in the event livestock damage your property or munch your highly prized vegetables.
A Lawful fence, as defined by the ARS 3-1426 is;
A fence shall be deemed a lawful fence when it is constructed and maintained with good and substantial posts firmly placed in the ground at intervals of not more than thirty feet, upon which posts are strung and fastened at least four barbed wires of the usual type tightly stretched and secured to the posts and spaced so that the top wire is fifty inches above the ground and the other wires at intervals below the top wire of twelve, twenty-two, and thirty-two inches. If the posts are set more than one rod apart, the wires shall be supported by stays placed not more than seven and one-half feet from each other or from the posts, extending from the top wire of the fence to the ground, and each wire of the fence securely fastened thereto.
Conversely, a “no-fence district”, as defined in ARS 3-1421, 1422 and 1424 is a designated area (usually an irrigation district adjacent to a city or town) that requires livestock owners to fence their livestock IN to keep them off other people’s property. The Board of Supervisors has the authority to designate No-Fence Districts. If an area is not within a No-Fence District, it is presumed to be open range.
Motorists are also subject to the open range law that requires them to watch for livestock on roadways at all time. Regardless of fault, if you kill livestock you are liable to the owner to compensate for damages. The Department of Transportation may place and maintain signs indicating that the territory traversed is open livestock range and warn against the danger of livestock on the highway.
For those non-natives who have moved to the rural areas of Arizona, it may come as a surprise to learn that cattle owners do not have to fence in their livestock. It’s the responsibility of the private landowners to fence the livestock out with a lawful fence. And you will probably find that if the fence is constructed and maintained as defined by law, you won’t have any problems with livestock on your property.
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