Mont. Code Ann. » TITLE 81. LIVESTOCK · CHAPTER 4. CONTAINMENT OF LIVESTOCK · Part 2. Animals Unlawfully Running at Large
Montana Code Annotated

Mont. Code Ann. § 81-4-201 (2026)

Animals Running At Large

✓ laws through the 2025 session (checked Sept. 2026)
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section MT-LEGleg.mt.gov JustiaTitle on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar
  1. MCA Contents
  2. TITLE 81
  3. CHAPTER 4
  4. Part 2
  5. 81-4-201 Animals running at large

TITLE 81. LIVESTOCK

CHAPTER 4. CONTAINMENT OF LIVESTOCK

Part 2. Animals Unlawfully Running at Large

Animals Running At Large

81-4-201. Animals running at large. It is unlawful for an owner or person in control of swine, sheep, llamas, alpacas, bison, ostriches, rheas, emus, or goats to willfully permit the animals to run at large.

History: En. Sec. 1165, Pen. C. 1895; re-en. Sec. 8838, Rev. C. 1907; re-en. Sec. 3393, R.C.M. 1921; re-en. Sec. 3393, R.C.M. 1935; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 169, L. 1945; R.C.M. 1947, 46-1704; amd. Sec. 10, Ch. 166, L. 1989; amd. Sec. 5, Ch. 417, L. 1993; amd. Sec. 9, Ch. 206, L. 1995.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 6 cases, 1981–2020 · leading case: Andersen v. Two Dot Ranch, Inc., 2002 WY 105, 49 P.3d 1011.
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
Andersen v. Two Dot Ranch, Inc., 2002 WY 105, 49 P.3d 1011. “§§ 81-4-301 to 310), animals unlawfully running at large (Mont.Code Ann. §§ 81-4-201 to 220), and grazing of livestock on highways (Mont.”
State ex rel. Martin v. Finley, 738 P.2d 497 (Mont. 1987). · cites it 3× “Section 81-4-201, MCA. Male equine animals may not run on the open range, equine animal defined as any stallion, ridgeling, unaltered male mule or jackass over the age of one year.”
Williams v. Selstad, 766 P.2d 247 (Mont. 1988). · cites it 2× “The court agreed with the plaintiff's argument that §§ 81-4-201 and 81-4-202, MCA, create a civil cause of action by a motorist against one who willfully permits swine, sheep or goats to run at large.”
State v. R. Laedeke, 2020 MT 275N, 474 P.3d 330. · cites it 2× “¶3 In April 2017, the State charged Laedeke with five offenses regarding his horse herd—three counts of cruelty to animals in violation of § 45-8-211(1), MCA, and two counts of livestock at large in violation of § 81-4-201, MCA.1 Following multiple trial continuances, Laedeke…”
Read v. Buckner, 514 F. Supp. 281 (D. Mont. 1981). · cites it 4× “In Count 1 the plaintiff claims that the defendant violated the provisions of MCA § 81-4-201 (1979), which reads: It shall be unlawful for any owner or person in control of swine, sheep, or goats to willfully permit the same to run at large.”
Larson-Murphy v. Steiner, 2000 MT 334, 15 P.3d 1205. · cites it 6× “See § 81-4-201, MCA (prohib *112 iting swine, sheep, llamas, alpacas, bison, ostriches, rheas, emus, and goats from “running at large”); § 81-4-204, MCA (prohibiting male equine from running at large on the open range); § 81-4-210, MCA (prohibiting any kind of bull that is not…”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.