Agricultural Fencing - Fence Laws

Fence Laws

The tradition of fencing out unwanted livestock prevails even today in some sparsely populated areas. For example, until the mid-20th century, most states in the American West were called "open range" ("fence out") states, in contrast to Eastern and Midwestern states which long had "fence in" laws where livestock must be confined by their owners. Though the open range was part of the western tradition, over time, open range was limited long before it was eliminated completely; first came an obligation to keep cattle from roaming onto state and federal highways, where collisions with fast-moving cars and trucks created a public safety hazard. In addition, voters could voluntarily choose to make certain heavily farmed areas a "herd district," where livestock needed to be fenced in, a process that also became popular in areas where development of hobby farms created conflicts between large and small landowners. Over time, court cases steadily limited the application of open range law until the present day, where it is the exception rather than the rule in many parts of the American West.

In the United Kingdom, the law is different for private land and common land. On private land it is the owner's responsibility to fence livestock in, but it is the responsibility of landowners bordering a common to fence the common's livestock out.