Idaho Code
Idaho Code § 25-2118 (2026)
Animals on open range — No duty to keep from highway.
✓ current as of May 2026
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Animals on open range — No duty to keep from highway.
No person owning, or controlling the possession of, any domestic animal running on open range, shall have the duty to keep such animal off any highway on such range, and shall not be liable for damage to any vehicle or for injury to any person riding therein, caused by a collision between the vehicle and the animal. "Open range" means all uninclosed lands outside of cities, villages and herd districts, upon which cattle by custom, license, lease, or permit, are grazed or permitted to roam.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 14
cases, 1964–2014 · leading case: Maguire v. Yanke, 590 P.2d 85 (Idaho 1978).
Maguire v. Yanke, 590 P.2d 85 (Idaho 1978). “§ 25-2118, [5] relieving *90 owners of livestock roaming on open range of the duty to keep such stock off the highway and absolving them of liability for damages caused by a collision between a vehicle and the livestock.”
Adamson v. Blanchard, 990 P.2d 1213 (Idaho 1999). “— No person owning, or controlling the possession of, any domestic animal running on open range, shall have the duty to keep such animal off any highway on such range, and shall not be liable for damage to any vehicle or for injury to any person riding therein, caused by a…”
Guzman v. Piercy / Canyon Cnty. / Sutton, 318 P.3d 918 (Idaho 2014). “Among other defenses, Piercy claimed he was “entitled to the protection of Idaho’s Open Range statutes and immunities,” including I.C. § 25-2118, which grants the owner of any domestic animal immunity from a negligence action arising from the animal’s lawful presence on a…”
Benewah Cnty. Cattlemen's Ass'n v. Bd. of Cnty. Commissioners, 668 P.2d 85 (Idaho 1983). “" Appellant also argues that the ordinance conflicts with I.C. § 25-2118, which provides that owners of animals in open range areas are not liable for damages when such animals are struck by vehicles operating on public highways.”
Moreland v. Adams, 152 P.3d 558 (Idaho 2007). “The Adamses contended that the collision occurred on land classified as open range and that they were consequently entitled to absolute immunity under I.C. § 25-2118. The trial court agreed. The judge found no evidence that the land on which the collision occurred was in a…”
Griffith v. Schmidt, 715 P.2d 905 (Idaho 1986). “The term "lawfully" is not defined, but its definition is not at issue in cases of nighttime vehicle collisions with unattended domestic animals running at large wherein we can presume the animals' presence on the highway does not fall within any reasonable definition of…”
Greer v. Ellsworth, 751 P.2d 675 (Idaho Ct. App. 1988). “Following extensive discovery, the Ellsworths moved for summary judgment, arguing that the area in question constituted "open range" which, under I.C. § 25-2118, permitted them to freely graze their cattle without incurring liability for a collision between vehicles on a highway…”
Hubbard v. Howard, 758 F. Supp. 594 (D. Idaho 1990). “The defendants seek summary judgment based upon Idaho Code § 25-2118 which provides immunity to owners of domestic animals for injuries caused by said animals when running on “open range.”
Whitt v. Jarnagin, 418 P.2d 278 (Idaho 1966). “§ 25-2118 2 impliedly makes it the duty of the person owning, or controlling the possession of, the domestic animal, to keep the animal off the highway, unless'the highway is on open range; and does absolve such person from liability for damage to a vehicle or injury to a person…”
Cunningham v. Bundy, 600 P.2d 132 (Idaho 1979). “2d 278 (1966): “[N]ot only did respondent Jarnagin have the burden of proving, which he did not, that the animal was lawfully on the highway, since it was in a herd district and not kept on unenclosed land or open range, I.C. §§ 25-2118 and 25-2119; Cortheil v. Pearson, supra;…”
Soran v. Schoessler, 394 P.2d 160 (Idaho 1964). “This land was neither open range, I.C. § 25-2118, nor located in an area designated as a herd district, I.”
Corthell v. Pearson, 399 P.2d 266 (Idaho 1965). “) I.C. § 25-2118 also enacted by the legislature in 1961, reads: “No person owning, or controlling the possession of, any domestic animal running on open range, shall have the duty to keep such animal off any high-' way on such range, and shall not be' liable for damage to any…”
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