18 U.S.C. § 1857

Fences destroyed; livestock entering

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Whoever knowingly and unlawfully breaks, opens, or destroys any gate, fence, hedge, or wall inclosing any lands of the United States reserved or purchased for any public use; or

Whoever drives any cattle, horses, hogs, or other livestock upon any such lands for the purposes of destroying the grass or trees on said lands, or where they may destroy the said grass or trees; or

Whoever knowingly permits his cattle, horses, hogs, or other livestock to enter through any such inclosure upon any such lands of the United States, where such cattle, horses, hogs, or other livestock may or can destroy the grass or trees or other property of the United States on the said lands—

Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.

This section shall not apply to unreserved public lands.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 4 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1987–2021 · leading case: Van Buren v. United States

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Van Buren v. United States (2021) scotus “; or permits a horse to eat grass on federal land, 18 U. S. C. §1857 . The number of federal laws and regulations that trigger criminal penalties may be as high as several hundred thousand.”

Chinatown Neighborhood Assn v. Kamala Harris (2015) ca9 · cites it 2× “The plaintiffs’ attempt to draw a negative inference from Congress’s failure in the MSA to address on-land activities related to finning, see 18 U.S.C. § 1857 (1)(P) (referring to activities at sea, aboard fishing vessels, and during landing), is similarly meritless.”

United States v. Larry B. Semenza (1987) ca9 “18 U.S.C. § 1857 . The existence of this criminal statute, with its intent requirement, supports my view that the Department of Agriculture did not intend merely to duplicate it in promulgating its regulations, but intended rather to establish a strict-liability prohibition in…”

DirecTV, Inc. v. Baker (2004) almd “§ 1859 , and “break[ ], open[ ], or destroy[ ] any gate, fence, hedge, or wall inclosing any lands of the United States,” 18 U.S.CA. § 1857. This does not seem like a reasonable reading of the statute.”

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