Dog / Human Conflict

[Geena]

Good point, but it's in the state of Missouri, which DOES have a few things to say.

https://agriculture.mo.gov/animals/rules.php
This page appears to be part of the official state website, and has a link to "dog and cat law."

I followed some of the links from there, and this one looks very relevant:
https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=273.020

"In every case where sheep or other domestic animals are killed or maimed by dogs, the owner of such animals may recover against the owner or keeper of such dog or dogs the full amount of damages and the owner shall forthwith kill such dog or dogs; and for every day he shall refuse or neglect to do so, after notice, he shall pay and forfeit the sum of one dollar, and it shall be lawful for any person to kill such dog or dogs"

The page also has a note: "1957) Chickens held "animals" within the statute and evidence was sufficient to support judgment. Tillery v. Cook (A.), 297 S.W.2d 9."


I found several of the other sections relevant as well, such as
https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=273.033
That appears to give the right to kill a dog if it is on your property, and you have previously complained to the sheriff a certain number of times, even if the dog is not engaged in killing animals or injuring people at that instant.


I would say there is no "leash law" as such, but that dogs in the entire state of Missouri are NOT allowed to go around killing livestock or threatening people, and the law provides for killing the dogs and making the owner pay damages for the dead livestock. (I'm not a lawyer, so I might have read things wrong-- which is why I listed where I found it all, so anyone can easily go check it for themself.)

Right, apparently it's okay for them be at large as long as they don't cause any trouble. Which seems pretty unrealistic, dogs running amok, especially if they pack up, are going to cause all sorts of problems. I can understand not being able to afford funding for animal control services, but IMO leash laws are a must!

 

[fisherlady]

I'm sorry, while I was posting my long winded reply above I missed a handful of posts regarding the subject.

 

[centrarchid]

I very much have in mind to document so others can see what happens. To be clear, at no point was I asking for advice. This is not my first experience with neighbor dogs, but I have learned from that experience and gotten better each time. Most threads with a similar starting point are boiling over with too much emotion making so gleaning good options difficult.

Additionally, a large proportion of poultry keepers are likely very limited in their ability to lawyer up owing to financial limitations.

 

[Geena]

This is not my first experience with neighbor dogs, but I have learned from that experience and gotten better each time.

I think it's ridiculous that you should have to constantly be concerned about your livestock's well being due to legally at large dogs.
So your neighbors can continue to let their dogs run and even come onto your property as long as they don't kill your chickens?

 

[fisherlady]

Speaking of lawyers, and them being an expense many can't afford... would the county agricultural extension (or whatever title the government agency goes by in your state) have legal resources or advice available to help small farmers? Not just because of dog situations, but any number of legal headaches facing small farms? I honestly have never researched my local ag extension purpose or benefit but would expect it to be a hub for resources pertaining to multiple issues facing farmers and legal issues have to be a major headache for many.
A phone call to a local college with an agricultural department may result in a new set of resources to access for any of us facing similar problems.

 

[shawluvsbirds]

Apparently there is no animal control in Callaway County. I was looking up the dog ordinances there, amazed that they could legally run amok, and found a news article that states-

" Callaway County does not have animal control services. There also are not any county ordinances forbidding people from letting their dogs roam free.

"I don't see that changing for a long period," Presiding County Commissioner Gary Jungermann said.

According to Jungermann, there's never been a major push to establish animal control services at the county level. The majority of Callawegians, he believes, do not consider wayward animals a serious enough problem to justify the cost.

"It's not that we don't care, but as elected officials, we have to follow the majority," Jungermann said.

He pointed that creating an entire new county office, hiring an animal control officer, purchasing equipment and paying the officer to patrol the county would be expensive."

Animial control in MO.

Geena you funny.

 

[shawluvsbirds]

In towns/cities here there are leash laws but most of the time there's no one to enforce them.
You either work it out with your neighbors or you SSS.
Out in the rural areas most people are well aware if their dog start running livestock they will be shot. It is an understanding that most of us grew up with. That's just the way it has always been and the way it should still be.
But the younger generations that are coming up seem to think their fur babies should be able to go wherever and do whatever they want.

 

[shawluvsbirds]

Where I live in a somewhat rural "city" I was told by conservation dept. Even to dispatch a predator like a fox, I need to be able to prove it was in the act of harming my birds to legally shoot it. Which is even more complicated because we're not supposed to discharge any kind of firearm in town.

 

[shawluvsbirds]

People still hunt with hounds here.
I think part of the thinking behind the laws regarding loose dogs is to protect the coyote hunting dogs from being shot on site just for running across someone's property. Those people put a lot of $$$ and effort into those dogs and help control the coyote population which is also a major problem for people with livestock.

 

[McChooky]

2017
Lack of ordinances, resources contribute to Callaway's stray animal problem

Under UCC code the county deputies are required to act as the animal control officer if they do not have one .If the county has a certain population they are required by law to have shelter if no private ones exist.(The state Constitution spells this out per state)