Oklahoma § 4-41 - Animals chasing or injuring livestock - Right to kill Liability of owner - Warrantless seizure - Court proceedings Definitions

§ 4-41. Animals chasing or injuring livestock - Right to kill Liability of owner - Warrantless seizure - Court proceedings Definitions

A. It shall be lawful for a person to kill any animal of the

family canidae or the family felidae found chasing livestock off the

premises of the owner of the animal if the person is the owner or

occupant of the property on which the animal is chasing the

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 4. Animals

livestock or if the person is authorized to kill such an animal by

the owner or occupant of such property.

B. The owner of any animal of the family canidae or the family

felidae that kills or injures any livestock shall be jointly and

severally liable to any person so damaged, to the full amount of the

injury done and damages caused, including reasonable attorney fees

and litigation expenses.

C. 1. Any animal control officer or any municipal, county or

state law enforcement officer may seize a potentially dangerous dog

without a warrant:

a. if the dog is continuing to run at large at the time of

the seizure,

b. if the officer has probable cause to believe the dog is

a dangerous dog and the threat to the health, safety

and welfare of livestock or persons is of a continuing

nature under the circumstances, or

c. pursuant to Section 47 of this title.

2. Any animal seized pursuant to this subsection shall be held

by the appropriate animal control authority until the appropriate

terms and conditions of release necessary to protect the health,

safety and welfare of livestock and persons with whom the dangerous

dog may come in contact are established by the supervisor of the

animal control authority or a court of competent jurisdiction and

agreed to by the owner.

D. 1. Upon commencement of any civil action to assess damages

pursuant to this section, the court upon its own motion, or upon a

motion by the plaintiff, and with notice to the defendant, and after

a hearing thereon, may issue an order requiring seizure of a dog if

the court has found probable cause to believe:

a. the dog is a potentially dangerous dog and the threat

to the health, safety and welfare of livestock or

persons is of a continuing nature under the

circumstances, or

b. the dog will be adjudicated a common nuisance pursuant

to subsection G of this section.

2. Any dog seized pursuant to this subsection shall be held by

the appropriate animal control authority until conclusion of the

civil action or until the court enters an order prescribing the

appropriate terms and conditions of release necessary to protect the

health, safety and welfare of livestock and persons with whom the

animal may come in contact.

E. The cost for the seizure and confinement of an animal as

authorized by subsection C or D of this section shall be borne by

the owner of the animal. However, in any civil action filed

pursuant to this section, if the owner of the animal is the

prevailing party, such costs shall be taxed in the case against the

nonprevailing party.

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 4. Animals

F. Nothing in this section shall be interpreted so as to

require any municipality or county to:

1. Operate or maintain an animal welfare facility; or

2. Accept or hold any seized animal from a municipal, county or

state law enforcement officer, other than its own.

G. The court, before whom a recovery is had for any injury or

damages as set forth in this section, shall declare the animal found

to have occasioned the injury to be a common nuisance, and order the

defendant to kill or cause to be killed, such animal within twentyfour (24) hours after the rendition of the judgment. Appeals shall

be allowed in all such cases. Any appeals shall be prosecuted in a

manner as prescribed by general statutes governing appeals.

H. The provisions of Sections 45, 46 and 47 of this title shall

also apply to a dangerous dog as defined in subsection I of this

section.

I. For purposes of this section:

1. "Livestock" means any cattle, bison, hog, sheep, goat,

equine, domesticated rabbits, chicken or other poultry and shall

include exotic livestock;

2. "Exotic livestock" means commercially raised exotic

livestock including animals of the families bovidae, cervidae and

antilocapridae or birds of the ratite group;

3. "Potentially dangerous dog" means any dog that, while the

dog was allowed to run at large off the property of the owner, when

unprovoked, on more than one occasion, was found to be chasing or

aggressively creating a substantial threat to the health, safety and

welfare of livestock or persons;

4. "Dangerous dog" means any dog that, while the dog was

allowed to run at large off the property of the owner:

a.

when unprovoked, killed or injured livestock, or

b.

has been previously found to be a potentially dangerous

dog, the owner having received notice of such by the

animal control authority in writing, and continues to be

found chasing or aggressively creating a substantial

threat to the health, safety and welfare of livestock or

persons;

5. "Animal control authority" means the same as defined in

Section 44 of this title;

6. "Animal control officer" means the same as defined in

Section 44 of this title; and

7. "Owner" means the same as defined in Section 44 of this

title.

R.L.1910, § 120. Amended by Laws 1935, p. 190, § 1; Laws 1949, p.

39, § 1, emerg. eff. Feb. 15, 1949; Laws 1993, c. 36, § 1, eff. July

1, 1993; Laws 2002, c. 187, § 2, eff. Nov. 1, 2002; Laws 2007, c.

40, § 1, eff. July 1, 2007; Laws 2013, c. 278, § 1, emerg. eff. May

14, 2013.

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 4. Animals