Driver or Rancher? Who’s At Fault When a Texas Cow Gets Hit

So here's a question that doesn't get asked very often in Texas; who is at fault for hitting a cow in Texas? The driver or the rancher? Texas has a ton of wide open spaces and you'll see heads of cattle in parts of your road trip. You'll also see a fence keeping those cattle from going too far.

The thing about this law is that it's legal in Texas to let your cattle roam free. However, each county in Texas has the right to enact laws that prohibit cattle or other livestock from roaming freely.

Laws can even be different for each precinct of a county. So yes, in some Texas counties, cattle or other livestock can freely roam along a highway and it's perfectly legal. Other Texas counties do have laws in place that require a fence to keep livestock confined to an area. But that doesn't apply to state or U.S. highways as livestock has the right of way no matter what laws are in place.

You gotta love how our government works, right?

How the Laws Differ by County

For Smith County, if you own horses, mules, jacks, jennets, or cattle, you must keep them in a fenced area. For folks in Gregg County, if you own horses, mules, jacks, jennets, or cattle, you must keep them in a fenced area. For you ranchers in Cherokee County, you are not required by law to fence in your livestock.

Cherokee County is considered open range. Basically, in Cherokee County, if cows are in the middle of the road, you have to wait for them to clear or go around them. If you hit one, you are at fault, not the livestock owner.

If you want to see if your county is open range or not, you can go to mwl-law.com. texasstandard.org has a great interview with Tiffany Dowell Lashmet with the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service around this topic as well. It's good information to know before you take that next road trip or to help with your daily commute.

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