Wyoming
state law requires ranchers to build fences around their respective
ranches to benefit from the law itself. To be accurate, Wyoming
doesn't strictly require fences for demarcation, but as a fence-out
state for cattle, ranchers that don't have fences on their properties
can't hold other ranchers liable if the latter's livestock enters
their territory.
If
the ranch came with the fence, however, then any trespassers would
hold its owners liable for any damage inflicted. A fence-out, also
called an open range, means ranchers can have their livestock roam
free across the Wyoming heartland save for areas enclosed by a lawful
fence. State statutes define a lawful fence as fencing strong enough
to keep livestock in and out. They don't have to be the pole and
board fences that are typical of ranches in popular culture. Even
barbed wire fencing three layers thick are considered under state law
to be legal fencing.
For
ranchers raising sheep and domesticated buffalo, keep in mind that
Wyoming is also a fence-in state. Unlike cattle, lamb and sheep need
to be supervised by the ranchers in or out of their property, so make
sure not a single sheep veers away from the herd. The difference
between a fence-in and fence-out is that the fence-in principle
respects property boundaries, regardless of the presence of fencing.
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