Neighbor shooting BB guns at my birds!

[longswamp farm]

WOW...That is scary..Someone training to become a police officer behaving that way.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I agree with everything you said, and I also want to avoid starting a Hatfield & McCoy style war with my only neighbor LOL. In my experience, the kind of meat-head idiot who fires at my livestock on my property is NOT likely to understand that the consequences of his actions are his own doing :/ I am also worried about what to do when my husband & I both work on the same day (so far we've been lucky and one or the other of us is usually home). Originally the coop was started behind our shed, about 30 feet from the neighbors house (we weren't going to have a rooster originally), but they got a pair of pit bulls before we finished the coop so we opted to move the coop the the opposite side of the property, about 150 feet from their porch. and half behind my house. Neighbor had to go down into his pasture to get a clear shot at my bird. I might invest in surveillance cameras to avoid any confusion if/when I do need to contact authorities. :/

Agree as well. Sometimes steering clear of idiots is the best course of action. But there is a limit.

Living in the country and getting upset about hearing a rooster crow is like going to the beach and getting upset about how sandy it is.

How loud are roosters? Not very. When I'm in my house, I can't hear my roosters. I can however hear lawnmowers, boom boxes, traffic, barking dogs and train horns.

I'm going to have to re-read the law. I live in Missouri and I don't recall anything that says you can track a dog across the state and shoot it where it's found. What I read was that you can kill it if it's on your property and bothering (worrying) livestock. Also keep in mind that just because the law allows you to kill animals that are bothering or worrying your livestock doesn't mean that a civil lawsuit can't be brought against you and if you end up with a dog loving judge, he could decide in favor of the plaintiff (dog owner) on grounds that maybe you didn't do everything in your power to make sure your chickens were secure from danger.

MO dog statute.
http://www.moga.mo.gov/statutes/chapters/chap273.htm

It specifically describes sheep but it also applies to other livestock.

~~273.030. If any person shall discover any dog or dogs in the act of killing, wounding or chasing sheep in any portion of this state, or shall discover any dog or dogs under such circumstances as to satisfactorily show that such dog or dogs has or have been recently engaged in killing or chasing sheep or other domestic animal or animals, such person is authorized to immediately pursue and kill such dog or dogs; provided, however, that such dog or dogs shall not be killed in any enclosure belonging to or being in lawful possession of the owner of such dog or dogs.

~~273.033. 1. In any action for damages or a criminal prosecution against any person for killing or injuring a dog, a showing by a preponderance of the evidence that such person was in reasonable apprehension of imminent harmful contact by the dog or was acting to prevent such imminent harmful contact against another person by the dog shall constitute an absolute defense to criminal prosecution or civil liability for the killing or injuring of such animal. 2. If a person has, on at least two occasions, complained to the county sheriff or to the appropriate animal control authority in his or her jurisdiction that a dog, not on a leash, has trespassed on property that such person owns, rents, or leases or on any property that constitutes such person's residence, and when at least one of the prior two complaints was motivated by reasonable apprehension for such person's safety or the safety of another person or apprehension of substantial damage to livestock or property, then any subsequent trespass by such dog shall constitute prima facie evidence that such person was in reasonable apprehension of imminent harmful contact. The county sheriff or animal control authority to which any complaint under this section is made shall notify the owner of the alleged trespassing dog of such complaint. Failure by a county sheriff or animal control authority to notify a dog owner under this subsection shall not invalidate or be construed in any way to limit any other provision of this subsection.

Mo state law for livestock leaving property.
http://extension.missouri.edu/p/G810

Shortly after the first incident where 9 of my chickens were killed, there was a court TV type of case where a person filed suit against a farmer that killed a dog that attacked his chickens. The plaintiff claimed the dog was more valuable than the chickens. The judge found on behalf of the chicken owner/dog killer. The judge can't deviate from the written law no matter how much they like dogs.

In SC if your chickens are lose but on your property it is the dog owner's responsibility to make sure the dog is kept off of your property. Chicken owner is not responsible for keeping chickens penned for safety.

WOW...That is scary..Someone training to become a police officer behaving that way.

Yeah, practicing to become a law enforcement officer by violating the law.

 

[hildar]

I can't understand why he would be shooting at the chickens in the pens. Had it of been me I would have gone face to face with him and told him one more time of me catching him doing it and the police would be called out. I have kids and would be scared to death one might get hurt.

 

[chiknhurder]

Agree as well. Sometimes steering clear of idiots is the best course of action. But there is a limit.
How loud are roosters? Not very. When I'm in my house, I can't hear my roosters. I can however hear lawnmowers, boom boxes, traffic, barking dogs and train horns.

MO dog statute.
http://www.moga.mo.gov/statutes/chapters/chap273.htm

It specifically describes sheep but it also applies to other livestock.

~~273.030. If any person shall discover any dog or dogs in the act of killing, wounding or chasing sheep in any portion of this state, or shall discover any dog or dogs under such circumstances as to satisfactorily show that such dog or dogs has or have been recently engaged in killing or chasing sheep or other domestic animal or animals, such person is authorized to immediately pursue and kill such dog or dogs; provided, however, that such dog or dogs shall not be killed in any enclosure belonging to or being in lawful possession of the owner of such dog or dogs.

I think this law is vague and wide open for interpretation. By what you're telling me is that if I have chickens killed by the neighbors dog, which I have, then I can hunt the dog down and shoot to kill even if it's on their property or another property owners place just as long as it's not in an enclosure? I think that's what you're telling me so I'll go on from there. Maybe we should check out the laws about discharging firearms into other people's property.

Hunting down a dog after an attack has taken place is not allowed. Generally, a farmer may legally kill a dog only on the farmer's own property. An Illinois court ruled that a sheep farmer who followed a dog back to its owner's home (in a residential area, no less) and shot it there an hour after the dog had killed some of his sheep was not protected under the Illinois statute. (People v. Pope, 383 N.E.2d 278 (1978).)

A dog is not, however, necessarily safe as soon as it leaves the farmer's property. In general, a farmer who wants retaliation is allowed to pursue a dog for a "reasonable time." What is a reasonable time under the circumstances is a question that's resolved when the lawsuit gets to court.

I think you may be on to something but it's not cut and dried. The laws will always be open to interpretation and will vary state to state and county to county and city to city.

 

[hildar]

I think this law is vague and wide open for interpretation. By what you're telling me is that if I have chickens killed by the neighbors dog, which I have, then I can hunt the dog down and shoot to kill even if it's on their property or another property owners place just as long as it's not in an enclosure? I think that's what you're telling me so I'll go on from there. Maybe we should check out the laws about discharging firearms into other people's property.

Hunting down a dog after an attack has taken place is not allowed. Generally, a farmer may legally kill a dog only on the farmer's own property. An Illinois court ruled that a sheep farmer who followed a dog back to its owner's home (in a residential area, no less) and shot it there an hour after the dog had killed some of his sheep was not protected under the Illinois statute. (People v. Pope, 383 N.E.2d 278 (1978).)

A dog is not, however, necessarily safe as soon as it leaves the farmer's property. In general, a farmer who wants retaliation is allowed to pursue a dog for a "reasonable time." What is a reasonable time under the circumstances is a question that's resolved when the lawsuit gets to court.

I think you may be on to something but it's not cut and dried. The laws will always be open to interpretation and will vary state to state and county to county and city to city.

A police report should have been done as soon as the dog killed the chickens. If you do it after every attack and tell them you saw the dog do it, then you can take owners to court for the money you are out for the chickens. If it continues then the county can get after the neighbor to put up a fence around their property or force them to get rid of the dog. That is how the law works here in NC.

 

[lja440]

There are strict laws against shooting toward a house or firing a gun in proximity of a house. You need to report him.

 

[lja440]

Unfortunately dogs do what dogs do, not their fault. Too often they pay for the bonehead mistakes of their owners. I have two animal aggressive dogs. Their jobs are to keep the coyotes away. When I stake out the goats (the only viable mowers on a portion of my property) or let out the chickens the dogs are tied up and given a treat or toy. The chickens go back in and the goats back in their pens the dogs go back on duty.

 

[lja440]

I agree not cut and dried. Best to get proof with pictures or a video. Let law enforcement take it from there.

 

[chiknhurder]

A police report should have been done as soon as the dog killed the chickens. If you do it after every attack and tell them you saw the dog do it, then you can take owners to court for the money you are out for the chickens. If it continues then the county can get after the neighbor to put up a fence around their property or force them to get rid of the dog. That is how the law works here in NC.

The sheriff has been notified 3 times about the dogs including the time when they killed the chickens. The neighbor took care of replacing the hens and rooster at the tune of $300 for the 5 birds. My point in this post was that you had better be prepared for a fight if you hunt down a dog and kill it if it's not on your property at the time and if you do, you'd better have proof that the dog was chasing or bothering the livestock. Without dead or injured animals or a witness or photo, that can be very difficult to prove.

 

[hildar]

The sheriff has been notified 3 times about the dogs including the time when they killed the chickens. The neighbor took care of replacing the hens and rooster at the tune of $300 for the 5 birds. My point in this post was that you had better be prepared for a fight if you hunt down a dog and kill it if it's not on your property at the time and if you do, you'd better have proof that the dog was chasing or bothering the livestock. Without dead or injured animals or a witness or photo, that can be very difficult to prove.

Around here you can't even kill a dog that is attacking your kids. It's against the law. I hate the dang law and believe me. I found a way finally to get rid of the issue it's called poison. However I now have this acre fenced in, and the 5 acres up to the big farm fenced in and that keep everything out. If anything does get in, it finds out real fast that I will kill it.

I had a neighbors dog take a bite out of me, then 2 days later it took a bite out of one of my kids. The lady still has never payed the hospital bills, however I dealt with her dog. AC wouldn't do it and the police did nothing. I put out poison in dog food right next to my porch it ate it.

But after she still never hooked the dog, and all the time I was having to run for my door when I would be outside, I figured something had to be done.