This Is Bull Shit
As usual, the cows from the neighbor's pasture decided the grass is greener on the other side of the fence, so the bulls tore down the fence we had just repaired and came and helped himself to our pasture. Brought a few friends. It will cost me hundreds of dollars in hay that I will have to start feeding at least a month early because the owner of the cows stole my cow feed.
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It took several hours, but I found the man who is named as the owner of that brand. He pulls this "Who me? I do not have any cows up there!" innocent act on me, but when I said "They have your brand" suddenly he remembered. Oh, yeah, those are his son's. Now, I have lived among cowboys for 40 years and never have I encountered one who lies so much and is such a rude bully. Most of them are true gentlemen, maybe a little rowdy once they get a few beers on board but I have always felt safer with a cowboy around. How many mass shootings in rural Idaho? Yeah, zero. Cowboys still pack heat. But today, I thought a cowboy might actually hit me. In front of his sons, you know, training them up to be a dickhead like daddy.
First he tells me "If there is water in Bacon Creek then the cows have water. Bacon Creek has not run dry in 11 years." Well, the creek runs through my property before it flows on to his. It runs dry every year, usually in June. I drove down to the end of Bacon Creek and took some video of the BONE DRY creek bed. I LIVE here, he just brings cows up and drops them off in the spring and come and collects them after the entire town has been pooped on and trampled in search of decent grass and water and everyone is on facebook demanding something happen. So, I put the lie to his claim that the creek has water, and he kinda' acted like he might hit me, and said "Did you trespass on my land?!" as mean and gruff and scary as he could, but I am not that easily bullied. I wish I had my camera going, I think his demeanor rose to criminal levels. Then he claimed that even though there is no water coming from above his property and no water coming out below his property, and there has been no water for over a month, his ponds are still full. Right... I need a drone...
Now, "open range" laws are his cover. Technically, he is right, this is "open range." It is also a little town, unincorporated, where there are small children, little old ladies... and his bulls running loose. Anyway, I had a neighbor ask me to deal with him this year, because in the past them man was rude and threatening to his wife and daughter. So I tracked the bastard down, posted a video (worse than this one, actually) of his cows crying all night. He suddenly found the inspiration to deal with the mess on his land. Sort of. He was inspired to try to come intimidate me into silence at least.
He shows up with his sons, he has the gall to knock on my door, shake my outstretched hand ("Lets work together, do this like neighbors" I said...) then proceed to tell me I better just build better fences. Yes, yes, I have been upgrading my fences since I moved here and by next year I will have jumped through the legal hoops (I failed to have them inspected... never heard of a fence inspector in my life - have you?) to be able to seize his bulls and cows when they break into my pasture. I run 6 tame heifers; he runs wild cattle, including bulls. I build a fence for my cows, his bulls tear them down and he tells me I have to fence out his animals. The letter of the man's law says he is correct. I guess if you live to intimidate and bully others to get your way "do unto others" is not a law you care about.
Meanwhile, the only way to get this asshole's attention is on facebook. Every year, someone in the area makes a post about "the cows are loose again." Every year, everyone outside the immediate area starts in about "It is open range" and "He is such a nice guy, just talk to him" and blah, blah, blah from people who are not living out here and do not understand what a butthole this man has been to everyone who does live here. It is not about the law, it is about being a decent human.
Anyway, I have a neighbor who I have been friends with, but I think I am about done. She has a thing for cowboys... and year after year, I get to listen to her tell me how I should just let his animals trash my pasture, tear down my fences, and what a great guy she knows he is even though she has never had to deal with the prick. A month or so ago, another neighbor who I used to be friends with pulled this stunt that was intended to tear my family apart, I mean tried to start a BRUTAL fight so he could watch and laugh. Fortunately, it failed. Charming. So... you can pick your friends but not your neighbors, as the saying goes. I tried to be friends with my neighbors, but I think I am all done bothering with that. I have done favor after favor after favor for my neighbors, but I am not and will never be "local" so they will never really see me as a human. That is fine, I will leave you good people to deal with each other; enjoy your free range bulls and all the poop that goes with it!
The neighbour's bullshit on the doorstep isn't something we normally have to deal with in the city......but I've lived in some areas in the past where it wasn't unheard of:)
The thing is, that in the past 5 years two men have been killed over wayward bulls within 20 miles of here. One was trying to help a neighbor get his bull back into his pasture, the bull turned and gored him to death in front of his wife and the bull's owner.
Before that, a bull was hit on the highway, the couple in the car were badly injured, the bull was too. The bull was making the accident scene unsafe, so the owner was called to put the bull down. In what can best be described as a clusterfuck of arrogance, incompetence and fucktardary, the deputies gunned down the rancher in front of his wife and nephew. Of course it was all justified, the cops investigated themselves and decided they did everything right. Please get a copy of "Milepost 142" if you are interested in an actual investigation into all the things they did that were very "not right."
No one around here seems to remember that. Or perhaps they have become like the Romans and are looking forward to the next gory death by bull in the neighborhood. I am talking about a population of less than 1200 people combined, in the two "big towns" around here. It seems like they would find it reasonable to ask a man to control his bulls. Nope. I am the bitch. Fine. I am NOT going to be the bitch who watches her husband get gored to death.
Unfreakingreal.
I've heard of cases like this, and we had one near here that didn't involve a rampaging bull, but did involve a sheriff's deputy shooting and killing an unarmed man, with known mental problems, whose only crime was failing to pull over during a slow speed chase.
According to numerous witnesses, they never went over 30 mph, but evidently it was still worth killing the man, who wasn't even suspected of having committed any other crimes.
I believe (though I'm far from certain) that the man was black. Naturally, the deputy who shot him suffered zero consequences.
And I found out years after it happened, despite living here at the time, because there appears to have been precisely zero public outcry.
Which is why I suspect that the man was not white.
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It is far too common. Heard of the Matthew Graves case? He was white and mentally disabled, and he jaywalked. The cops killed him.
This kind of thing happens way too often.
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Understood, and there are the suburban version of these kind of neighbors too in my town who leave their dogs unleashed and unsupervised.
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Ironically, if it were his dogs I would have firmer legal footing. Open range laws were put on the books so the ranchers with grazing permits on Federal land were protected from liability as their cattle came and went from summer to winter pasture. It was done to keep it financially feasible to raise beef. End open range laws and the no one will be able to afford hamburger in this country. This guy uses them to justify not keeping his fences in adequate repair to hold his animals. He has the law on his side for now... but dumbass pissed me off. Next year things will go down differently, and the law will be on MY side.
Man, I am so sorry you're having to deal with this dickhead. What a creep.
We have cattle all around us, but people here keep them fenced for real, and the one time I was surprised to find four tame cows in my back yard, the owner immediately showed up looking for them, and followed them down to the river to herd them back to his place.
Good fences make good neighbors, but anyone running bulls and not bothering to properly contain them is a danger to everyone.
Praying for the best for all concerned, and for you to get some real help from the authorities, which you should have been getting long before now.
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MOST cattle ranchers are like that. We do have open range, and Fed grazing grants, so spring and fall the cattle are roaming all over here coming and going to summer pasture. All good, everyone knows to be DAMN careful that time of year. But he took the law to protect those ranchers and is using it in an area that is really not appropriate, but the law is the law. That is his position, if people get killed by his animals, oh well. His are what they call "nuisance animals" and I have a right to claim them except I have to have a "legal fence." I looked up the description years ago, and we have been slowly bringing all our fences up to standard, but now the deputy told me that my fence was not a "legal fence" unless I had it inspected. I have been trying to find a "fence inspector" and so far, no luck. No one seems to have ever heard of such a thing. But see my reply below, you will understand why I expect no real assistance from the Sheriff's department.
Run his bull into the next county! I’m a pain in the ass for people who will not take care of their animals.