Notes on the Law of Straying Stock
By Liam Hehir
For many years in New Zealand farmers were not liable for any of their animals straying onto the road. There was not even a requirement for animal owners to fence property adjacent to roads.
However, this farmer-friendly rule was abolished by Parliament some years ago. Now, the legal position is that animal owners are liable for damage caused by their animal, if it escapes due to negligence.
Recently, the Disputes Tribunal awarded $5,386 against a farmer after a driver hit a calf wandering on the road at night. The Tribunal held that the farmer had been negligent in not taking all ‘reasonable' steps to ensure adequate fencing.
According to media reports, the Tribunal attached a lot of weight to the fact that the calf had just been weaned, because "recently-weaned calves can be very unsettled and ... they can be unpredictable and skittish."
The implication is that the farmer should have taken extra precautions to keep the calf on his land beyond the usual seven-wire fence, because he should have foreseen that might not be sufficient to hold in those particular animals.
The decision was heralded in The Dominion Post as being ‘precedent setting'. Most lawyers would consider that an overstatement of the weight attached to the decisions of the Disputes Tribunal.
Nevertheless, it is a handy illustration of the fact that farmers need to turn their minds to the possibility of their animals escaping, and to take reasonable steps to prevent that from occurring.
Also
- If an animal gets onto a motorway and causes damage to vehicles or motorists, then under the relevant legislation the owner will be liable for all of the damage, unless the owner can prove that there was no negligence (a ‘guilty until proven innocent' scenario).
- Under another statute, if someone's stock strays onto your land you must notify the owner with 24 hours. You may keep the animal on your land for 48 hours and you must feed it. By the expiration of that time, you must take the animal to the nearest pound.
- You can recover these costs and some of the costs of keeping the animal from its owner. Lastly, if the animal causes any damage to your fencing, you are entitled to claim up to $50 for repairs.
