No more 'free meals' for marauding cattle
Staff reporter
Rogue cattle are destroying rural county residents' fields, eating their hay, and generally causing concern, reported Marion County Sheriff Lee Becker Feb. 20 to Marion County Commission.
Becker said four or five years ago, the previous commission had allowed Becker to capture the loose livestock which was sold to recover some of the costs to round-up and keep until sold.
After the commission heard the information, it instructed Becker to capture and sell the livestock.
"There are five to 20 head of cattle that aren't marked," Becker said, and the owner has no intention of tagging them. The fencing is inadequate to keep them penned so the cattle end up on roadways which could and has caused serious traffic collisions.
Farmers in the area are concerned about the neglected cattle spreading disease and damaging and destroying their properties, Becker said.
The commission asked if Becker could require the owner to tag the livestock and fine him when they are out.
Becker said the challenge is identifying the owner when the cattle aren't marked or when the cattle return to their home pens when being pursued.
State statute allows land owners to defend their properties when animals are damaging or threatening, Becker said, but neighbors don't want to turn on each other.
"There's a problem with this because it's been a hard winter," Becker said. He continued that there's no motive to the owner to keep the animals penned because the owner does not have the animals for the purpose of making a profit.
Becker said that livestock is not allowed to run loose and this particular owner has been irresponsible for the past 20 years in allowing his cattle to ravage neighbor's property by breaking through inadequate fencing.
A previous run-in with the same owner and five head of cattle several years ago resulted in one of the cows being shot because it gored a horse. The remaining four were penned and sold with the county re-cooping $2,000 to cover $2,800 in expenses, Becker said.
Becker said one thing he will do differently this time around — if there is a difference in the costs the county incurs and what is received at auction, the county will sue the owner for the difference.
