Title 36, Livestock

When security for the payment of damages and costs is approved by the district judge, the judge shall issue an order directed to the person holding the livestock to deliver the livestock to the person entitled to the livestock, and the officer receiving the order shall take the l…

Before commencing any action for damages caused by the trespass of any livestock, the person sustaining damages, if the person knows to whom the livestock belongs and the owner is a resident of, and is present in, the county in which the trespass occurred, shall notify the owner,…

A party claiming damage for trespass of livestock under this chapter shall bring an action to recover the same within: 1. Sixty days after the infliction of the damage if the offending livestock have been distrained by the person who has been damaged and a lien is sought to be im…

If the person suffering damage because of the trespass of livestock which has been taken up under this chapter does not know the name of the owner or keeper of the livestock, the person may bring an action against an unknown defendant. In such case, service must be made by public…

Upon the trial of an action brought under this chapter, the plaintiff shall prove: 1. The amount of damage sustained by the plaintiff by reason of the trespass; and 2. If the plaintiff has distrained the livestock committing the trespass, the amount of expense incurred in distrai…

Any judgment rendered for damages against the defendant in an action brought under this chapter is a lien upon the livestock committing the trespass if the livestock were distrained by the plaintiff, and the livestock may be sold as in other cases of sale of personal property on …

After a judgment has been rendered against an unknown defendant as provided in section 36-11-14, the livestock, or so many of them as may be necessary, must be sold in the same manner as personal property is sold upon execution. Any surplus remaining from the sale after the judgm…

In all actions brought under this chapter, if the amount of damages claimed does not exceed twenty-five dollars, the judgment of the court having original jurisdiction is final. Either party to the action may have a jury trial upon demand.

Every person who, except by due course of law, takes, advises, or assists in the taking of any livestock distrained and held by virtue of this chapter, from the possession of the person having the livestock, without the consent of the person holding the livestock, is guilty of a …

In the event of a complaint by anyone suffering injury or damages or likely to suffer injury or damages as a result of livestock running at large contrary to section 36-11-01, the sheriff of the county in which the livestock may be found shall return the livestock to the owner or…

In this chapter, unless the context or subject matter otherwise requires: 1. "Drover" means any person having charge or control of any herd of neat cattle, horses, or mules numbering five or more, or any flock of sheep numbering twenty-five or more, as owner, agent, or employee, …

No drover or herder, or assistant of either, may drive or entice away, without the consent of the owner thereof, any animal from the premises of such owner or from the range or other place usually frequented by such animal, nor may such a person suffer any such animal to be drive…

Every drover shall have all animals in the drover's charge or control branded or marked with one uniform brand or mark. Each horse, mule, and head of cattle in the drover's charge or custody must be branded in a conspicuous place with one distinct ranch or road brand of the owner…

Whenever it is shown that any animal of a kind mentioned in this chapter: 1. Has been found in a herd or flock of the same kind of animals; 2. Is not a part of such herd or flock; and 3. Is in such herd or flock without the consent of the owner of such animal, such facts are pres…

Every person violating any of the restrictions or requirements prescribed in section 36-12-02 is responsible to each person injured thereby to the extent of the injured person's damages, which damages include the reasonable expenses incurred in searching for and recovering the an…

Any person who violates any provision of this chapter is guilty of an infraction.

In this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires: 1. "Animals" means alpaca, bison, bovine animals, farmed elk, goats, horses, llamas, sheep, swine, and nontraditional livestock. 2. "Board" means the state board of animal health.

No person may sell, give away, or in any manner part with any animal infected with or suspected of being infected with any contagious or infectious disease, except as may be provided otherwise by the rules of the state board of animal health. If any animal is known to have been i…

The owner, agent, or person having in charge any animal infected or suspected of being infected with any contagious disease shall confine the animal immediately in a safe place isolated from all other animals with all necessary restrictions to prevent the dissemination of the dis…

1. Except as otherwise provided by this chapter or by rule, all domestic animals and nontraditional livestock brought into this state must be accompanied by a certificate of veterinary inspection certifying that the animals are free from symptoms of all contagious and infectious …

The purchase, possession, or use of living hog cholera virus and vaccines by any person, including all licensed veterinarians, is unlawful except by written permit issued by the state veterinarian. Any person violating this section is guilty of a class B misdemeanor.

Shipments into this state of animals for immediate slaughter may be permitted without a certificate of veterinary inspection only if the animals are not diverted en route and are delivered directly to a slaughtering establishment approved by the agriculture commissioner.

All certificates of veterinary inspection required under the provisions of this chapter must be issued, and all tests must be made, by a federal or state veterinarian or a deputy state veterinarian, or by a graduate veterinarian whose inspections and tests are endorsed by the off…

The certificate certifying to a test made under this chapter must be made on official federal or state blanks and must accompany the shipment to its destination. When an original certificate is made, two copies of the certificate must be mailed immediately to the state veterinari…

Whenever any animal has been adjudged by the board to be diseased, the board or its authorized agent shall serve a written notice of its decision upon the owner or keeper of the animal before the condemned animal is killed. The animal must be destroyed within fifteen days after n…

Any person who issues a certificate of veterinary inspection for livestock within this state without being authorized so to do by the state board of animal health or by the United States department of agriculture is guilty of a class B misdemeanor.

If livestock is brought into this state in violation of this chapter or contrary to any rule of the state board of animal health, the state veterinarian or other accredited agent of the commissioner shall notify the state's attorney of the county into which the livestock has been…

Every person who owns or has in charge any sheep infected with scab or other infectious or contagious disease and who: 1. Does not keep such sheep securely within some enclosure; or 2. Drives or permits any such sheep to be driven upon any public highway, or within the distance o…

Any animal which is found dead must be presumed to have died from a contagious or infectious disease until the contrary is shown unless another cause of death is apparent. The owner or person in charge of any domestic animal or nontraditional livestock which dies within this stat…

If the owner or person in charge of a dead animal fails to comply with the provisions of section 36-14-19, the overseer of highways shall comply with the provisions of section 36-14-19 for the owner or person. If burial of the animal is permitted, the burial may be made upon the …

1. The board may order any domestic animal or nontraditional livestock brought into this state which is not in compliance with the provisions of this chapter to be returned to the state of origin, or in the alternative, the board may order the animal slaughtered or destroyed. 2. …

Every person violating any of the provisions of this chapter is liable in a civil action to any person injured by such violation for all damages directly or indirectly suffered thereby.

1. Whenever any animal has been adjudged to be diseased and ordered killed by the board, the board or its authorized agent, within seven days after the entry of the order and before the animal has been killed pursuant to the order, shall determine the actual value of the animal. …

Except as provided in section 36-14-23, if any individual who owns or who represents the owner of any animal ordered killed under this chapter is not satisfied with the appraisal by the board or its agents, the individual may protest the order within seven days, and a board of th…

Each member of the board of appraisers who is not an agent of the board is entitled to receive one hundred thirty-five dollars per day as compensation for services rendered, plus reimbursement for expenses as provided by law for state officers. Fifty percent of the amount due und…

If the board determines that an animal is so seriously diseased as to warrant disposal of the animal and of all other exposed animals, the board may approve indemnity payments, as funds are appropriated, on the animals in accordance with the limits set in section 36-14-27. The bo…

The return of an appraisal under this chapter must be in writing and signed by the board or by the board's agent who made the appraisal, or by the members of the board of appraisers if a reappraisal is made after a protest, and by the owner of the condemned animal. The return mus…

The right of the owner of a diseased animal to be indemnified does not exist and the board may not authorize payment if: 1. The animal belongs to the United States, to this state, or to any political subdivision of this state. 2. The owner at the time of coming into possession of…

In this chapter, unless the context or subject matter otherwise requires: 1. "Animals" means bovine animals or bison. 2. "Board" means the state board of animal health. 3. "Diseased", when used to describe any animals, means animals infected with either bovine tuberculosis or bru…

Whenever any animal has been adjudged by the board to be infected with bovine tuberculosis or brucellosis, the board or its authorized agent shall serve a written notice of its decision upon the owner or keeper of the animal before the condemned animal is killed. The animal must …

If the board determines that an animal is so seriously infected with brucellosis or bovine tuberculosis as to warrant disposal of the animal and of all other exposed animals, the board may approve indemnity payments, as funds are appropriated, for the animals in accordance with t…

Any money realized from the sale of the whole or any part of a diseased animal killed under the provisions of this chapter may be paid to the owner of the condemned animal and the amount thereof deducted from the appraised value of such animal.

The state veterinarian shall enforce the tuberculin testing or the brucellosis testing of all animals entering the state as prescribed by rule or in a circumscribed area as established by the board in accordance with the provisions of this chapter providing for the eradication of…

Any person who attempts to prevent the board or the commissioner from carrying out this chapter, or who violates any of the provisions of this chapter relating to the testing of animals, is guilty of an infraction.

1. A person may not bring into this state or receive from outside this state any female cattle over the maximum vaccination age prescribed in the brucellosis eradication uniform methods and rules approved by the United States department of agriculture's animal and plant health in…

1. The board may waive the requirement set forth in section 36-15-21 if the person requesting the waiver obtains a form from the state veterinarian and submits the completed form to the board. 2. As a condition of granting the waiver, the board may require disease testing, vaccin…

1. The board may order animals brought into the state which are not in compliance with the provisions of this chapter to be returned to their state of origin, or in the alternative, the board may order the animals to be slaughtered or destroyed. 2. If, after a hearing, the board …

1. A livestock owner may file a claim with the state board of animal health seeking partial reimbursement for the value of any livestock that died as a direct result of official disease testing required by the state veterinarian and conducted on the owner's herd or flock by the s…

It is a class B misdemeanor for a person to: 1. Fraudulently represent any animal as purebred; 2. Post or publish, or cause to be posted or published, any false pedigree or certificate; 3. Procure by fraud, false pretense, or misrepresentation, the registration of any animal to b…

Any person who kills any dog, wolf, or coyote kept as a domestic animal is not liable in any civil action to the owner of the animal: 1. When the person sees such animal in the act of killing, chasing, worrying, or damaging any livestock or poultry; or 2. When the person discover…