Liability for open range cattle at issue in Arizona

Free-range cattle still roam widely across the west, protected by century-old laws, but growing urban sprawl is bringing fresh scrutiny to open range laws. "People have been killed in collisions with large cows," Daniel Patterson, an Arizona state representative from Tucson who is pushing to scale back the rights given cows and their owners in his state, told Marc Lacey of The New York Times. "We need to get rid of this antiquated law from the 19th century. It’s important for ranchers and other livestock owners to keep their cattle where they belong." Patterson's bill would end Arizona's open range law but has yet to gain traction, Lacey reports. (NYT photo by Mark Holm)

The bill has garnered backlash from the Arizona Cattlemen's Association, "but by introducing it, Mr. Patterson said he had heard from many Arizonans who have had unpleasant bovine encounters," Lacey writes. In May, a border patrol agent died after crashing into an open range cow near the Mexican border in Texas. "I am sure there was a time when this law made sense, but today it does nothing except benefit the rancher at the expense of me and my neighbors and other citizens around the state," Victor Eastridge, who complained of cattle damaging his property in Douglas.

Industry officials say ending the law would put undue hardship on ranchers. "We live by the policy of good neighbors," Patrick Bray, executive director of the Arizona Cattlemen’s Association, told Lacey. "Ranchers try to maintain their fences as best they can. But it takes a lot of work, and cattle have a mind of their own. To put the liability on the ranchers if an animal gets out would be devastating to our industry." California has already restricted its open range law to rural areas, and Arizona cows are restricted in incorporated areas but not suburbs. (Read more)