Killed on the range: Who pays when cars hit cattle?

BLACKFOOT, Idaho - Idaho's open-range laws make motorists, not ranchers, responsible for vehicle accidents with livestock, but new court decisions are changing that.

There have been court cases in the past 10 years in which ranchers have been found liable even when their sheep or cattle are on open range and wander onto roads.

"The influx of people not accustomed to rural life has changed the way open-range laws are viewed to some extent," said Kendall Keller, Farm Bureau representative in Pocatello. "The courts have said it is a normal expectation that those animals would stay inside the fence."

Keller said he handled a case a few years ago in which one of his clients was found liable when a cow escaped from a fenced area and walked onto a road. He said the insurance company had to pay for repairs to the vehicle.

"It's different if you are up in areas like around the Blackfoot Reservoir where there are no fences and all you see are cattle guards," Keller said. "There, the motorist is certainly liable if an animal is struck."

David Howell, Bureau of Land Management public-affairs specialist, said holding farmers responsible for stock struck on open range is contrary to the Idaho Driving Handbook.

"The motorist handbook specifically states that the motorist is responsible for striking stock on open range," Howell said. "We do ask farmers grazing stock on BLM land to have them in a fenced area if they are near roadsides. We want to keep them off roadways."

Terry Smith, BLM range-management specialist, said the BLM resource area where open range is located covers 264,000 acres.

He said it is state law, not federal, however, that dictates open-range rules.

Insurance agent Russ Bosworth said he has not handled any claims against farmers whose animals were struck on open range.

"The claims we get there are usually for stock that's been shot," he said. "It's the people who have stock in closed range that end up being liable if someone hits their stock. We've handled many claims like that. It goes with their liability insurance. But I don't ever remember one on open range."

Anita Pratt's family has run cattle on open range through private land for two generations.

"We've never been sued because someone hit one of our cattle," she said. "In fact, we usually never find out who did it because they would be at fault and would have to pay for the cow."

The Pratts run cattle on a range northwest of the Blackfoot Reservoir for 114 days each summer.

"Idaho law states stock have the right of way on open range," Pratt said.

However, Dell Bischoff, Bingham County animal-control officer, has seen courts find otherwise. He said about three-fourths of Bingham County's 22,000 square miles is in open or restricted range. Only one-fourth is closed range.

He said courts find for the motorist in some situations.

"It seems to happen when the farmer has put up a fence to keep his stock off the road," Bischoff said. "That seems to imply that they should not have been on the road, even though it's open range, so he'd have been better off to not put up a fence in the first place."

Sara Braasch, executive vice president of the Idaho Cattle Association, said the association's membership is satisfied with Idaho's open-range law.