Estray Livestock Laws in Texas: What You Must Know If You Find Stray Animals
July 17, 2026
Stray livestock on your Texas property can create real problems fast — from crop damage and fence breaks to dangerous road hazards that put drivers at risk. What many landowners, renters, and passerby don’t realize is that Texas law places specific, non-negotiable duties on anyone who encounters a stray animal. Ignoring those duties can expose you to criminal liability, even if your intentions were good.
Texas governs estray livestock through Chapter 142 of the Texas Agriculture Code, a detailed set of rules covering everything from your reporting obligations the moment you spot a stray animal to what happens when that animal goes unclaimed for weeks. Whether you own the land, lease it, or simply manage it, this guide walks you through every stage of the estray process so you can stay on the right side of the law.
Important Note: This article provides general legal information about Texas estray statutes as of June 2026. It is not legal advice. If you face a dispute over livestock costs, ownership, or liability, consult a licensed Texas attorney familiar with agricultural law.
What Is an Estray and How Texas Law Defines It
Under Chapter 142 of the Texas Agriculture Code, an “estray” means stray livestock, stray exotic livestock, stray bison, or stray exotic fowl. This definition is broader than most people expect. It goes well beyond cattle and horses to include animals that many Texans might not immediately associate with the term “livestock.”
The code defines “exotic livestock” as grass-eating or plant-eating, single-hooved or cloven-hooved mammals that are not indigenous to Texas and are known as ungulates, including animals from the swine, horse, tapir, rhinoceros, elephant, deer, and antelope families — but not including mammals defined as game animals or fur-bearing animals under the Parks and Wildlife Code. In practice, this means a wandering nilgai antelope or a stray axis deer held on a private ranch can qualify as an estray under the same rules that apply to a stray cow or goat.
The law is triggered when an estray, without being herded with other livestock, roams about the property of a person without that person’s permission or roams about public property. That single phrase — “without being herded” — is important. A group of cattle being driven down a road by a rancher is not an estray situation. A lone cow that jumped a fence and ended up in your pasture is.
Since 1876, the Texas Legislature has allowed for the passage of local stock laws that modify the common law rule of open range. If these laws are in place, landowners have a duty to prevent animals from entering the highway. In open range counties, property owners are required to build and maintain a fence sufficient to keep livestock off their property. Understanding whether your county operates under open range or closed range rules can affect how liability is assigned when an estray causes damage — but it does not change your duty to report the animal. According to the Texas Attorney General, estray laws apply in all counties, whether open or closed range.
For more on how Texas law governs livestock movement and transport, see this overview of transporting livestock laws in Texas.
Your Obligations When You Find Stray Livestock in Texas
The moment you discover stray livestock on your property or on public land you manage, Texas law puts you on the clock. This is not a situation where you can wait and see — the statute uses the phrase “as soon as reasonably possible” to describe when you must act.
The Texas Agriculture Code, Chapter 142, deals with procedures regarding stray livestock, exotic livestock, bison, and fowl. The rules apply not only to the owner of the land on which the strays have wandered, but also to a lessee, occupant, or caretaker of such land. If you rent a pasture or manage a farm for someone else, you carry the same legal duty as the property owner.
One of the most common misconceptions about estray livestock is that possession equals ownership. There is no such thing as “finders keepers” regarding estray livestock in Texas. The finder of an estray may be charged with theft of livestock if he or she disposed of the estray outside of the estray procedure set out in Section 142 of the Texas Agriculture Code. Selling, butchering, or simply keeping a stray animal without following the legal process is a criminal act under Texas law.
Pro Tip: Document the animal’s condition, any visible brands or ear tags, and the date and time you first discovered it. This information will be required when you contact the sheriff and can protect you if a dispute arises later over care costs or damages.
Texas law also prohibits a person who owns or has responsibility for the control of a horse, mule, donkey, cow, bull, hog, sheep, or goat from knowingly permitting the animal to traverse or roam at large, unattended, on the right-of-way of a highway. If you are a livestock owner and your animals escape, you share responsibility for the consequences — especially in closed range counties. Learn more about goat ownership laws in Texas and backyard pig laws in Texas if you keep smaller livestock on your property.
How to Report an Estray to Authorities in Texas
Reporting is the first formal step in the estray process, and the law is specific about who you call and what information you provide. The owner of the private property or the custodian of the public property, as applicable, shall, as soon as reasonably possible, report the presence of the estray to the sheriff of the county in which the estray is discovered. You contact the county sheriff’s office — not animal control, not a neighbor, and not the Texas Animal Health Commission.
According to the Texas Animal Health Commission, loose livestock or livestock found on someone else’s property are handled by the local county Sheriff’s Office. The TAHC handles disease and health compliance, but estray enforcement falls squarely on the county sheriff.
When you call, be prepared to give the sheriff’s office a clear, factual account of what you found. Assist the sheriff by providing the location, number, and description of the estray livestock. The more detail you can provide — breed, color, sex, approximate age, any visible brands, ear tags, or markings — the faster the sheriff can search for the owner.
Here is what to have ready before you call:
- Exact location where the animal was found (address, GPS coordinates, or landmark)
- Number of animals present
- Species and breed, if you can identify it
- Color, sex, and approximate size or age
- Any visible brands, ear tags, or other markings
- Current condition of the animal (injured, aggressive, calm)
- Whether the animal poses a danger to people or traffic
After receiving a report that an estray has been discovered on private property, the sheriff or the sheriff’s designee shall notify the owner, if known, that the estray’s location has been reported. If the owner is known, the process can resolve quickly. If no owner is immediately identified, the sheriff moves into the impoundment process.
After receiving a report that an estray has been discovered on public property, the sheriff or the sheriff’s designee shall notify the owner, if known — except that if the sheriff determines the estray is dangerous to the public, the sheriff may immediately impound the estray without notifying the owner. Public safety always takes priority over owner notification when the animal poses a hazard.
Texas counties handle the logistics of estray pickup differently. In some counties, the reporting process begins with a patrol deputy taking a report when an estray is located, and a contract cowboy picks up the animals. Your county sheriff’s office can tell you what to expect in your specific area.
Care and Cost Responsibilities While Holding an Estray in Texas
After you report an estray, you may find yourself in a temporary holding situation while the sheriff locates the owner or arranges impoundment. Texas law addresses this period carefully, because the costs of feeding and caring for livestock add up quickly.
The owner or occupant of property on which an estray is found, held, or impounded is entitled to receive from the owner of the estray the payment of a reasonable amount for maintenance and damages — if the original notice of the discovery of the estray was given to the sheriff not later than the fifth day after the date of discovery. That five-day window is critical. If you wait too long to report, you may forfeit your right to compensation for the costs you incurred.
The redemption payment shall be a “reasonable amount for maintenance and damages.” The amount may either be agreed upon by the parties or, if no agreement can be reached, an action may be filed in the justice court and the justice of the peace will set the payment amount. This gives you a legal avenue to recover your costs even if the livestock owner pushes back.
To give you a sense of what county-level fees can look like, Comal County’s Sheriff’s Office publicly lists estray fees that include daily feed costs per animal type and per-head catch and handling fees. While these figures are county-specific and subject to change, they illustrate that holding livestock — especially horses or cattle — can become expensive within days.
Pro Tip: Keep a written log of every day the animal is on your property, what you fed it, any veterinary care you provided, and any property damage it caused. This record supports your maintenance claim when the owner redeems the animal or when the justice of the peace sets a payment amount.
While you hold the animal, you may not use it for your own purposes. Section 142.011 of the Agriculture Code addresses the use of an estray, and Section 142.012 covers the escape or death of an impounded estray. If the animal dies or escapes while in your care, the sheriff must be notified so a written report can be filed with the county clerk. You are not automatically liable for the animal’s death or escape, but documentation is essential.
If you own goats, chickens, or other small livestock and want to understand your broader responsibilities as an animal keeper in Texas, see the guides on backyard chicken laws in Texas and rooster laws in Texas.
How Livestock Owners Can Reclaim an Estray in Texas
If your animal has gone missing and you believe it may have been reported as an estray, act quickly. The Texas Agriculture Code gives livestock owners a clear path to reclaim their animals, but that path has firm deadlines.
A livestock owner must redeem the stray animal no later than five days after notification — or be making a good faith effort to make the redemption payment — or the sheriff is required to proceed with the impoundment process. “Good faith effort” is a meaningful phrase here. If you are actively working to retrieve your animal and communicating with the sheriff’s office, you have some protection. But silence and inaction will trigger impoundment.
To formally reclaim an impounded estray, you must complete a multi-step process under Section 142.010 of the Texas Agriculture Code. The owner of an estray may recover possession at any time before the estray is sold if: the owner has provided the sheriff with an affidavit of ownership; the sheriff has approved the affidavit; the approved affidavit has been filed in the estray records of the county clerk; the owner has paid all estray handling expenses; the owner has executed an affidavit of receipt of estray; and the sheriff has filed the affidavit of receipt in the county clerk’s estray records.
The ownership affidavit must contain specific information. The affidavit must include the name and address of the owner, the date the owner discovered the animal was an estray, the property from which the animal strayed, a description of the animal, and a sworn statement that the affiant is the owner or caretaker of the animal.
Beyond the paperwork, you will owe money. The owner must pay all estray handling expenses, which include all expenses incurred by the party who discovered the estray and by the sheriff. The total amount of the payment is determined by the sheriff. A person who disagrees with the amount set by the sheriff may petition the justice court and may appeal the justice court decision. You have a formal dispute process available if the costs seem unreasonable.
If the sheriff is present when you collect your animal, the sheriff may require payment of a collection fee not to exceed $25. This is a statutory cap, not a suggestion — the fee cannot exceed that amount under current Texas law.
| Step | What the Owner Must Do | Governing Statute |
|---|---|---|
| 1. File Ownership Affidavit | Submit sworn affidavit to the sheriff with animal description and ownership details | Tex. Agric. Code § 142.010 |
| 2. Affidavit Approved and Filed | Sheriff approves affidavit; it is filed with the county clerk | Tex. Agric. Code § 142.010 |
| 3. Pay All Handling Expenses | Pay costs incurred by the finder and the sheriff; dispute via justice court if needed | Tex. Agric. Code § 142.010 |
| 4. Execute Receipt Affidavit | Sign affidavit of receipt and deliver it to the sheriff before taking the animal | Tex. Agric. Code § 142.010 |
| 5. Sheriff Files Receipt | Sheriff files the receipt affidavit in the county clerk’s estray records | Tex. Agric. Code § 142.010 |
Brands and ear tags are your best friends in a reclaim situation. If the owner of the estray is unknown, the sheriff shall make a diligent search for the identity of the owner, including a search in the county register of recorded brands if the animal has an identifiable brand. Registering your brand and keeping ear tag records current makes it far easier for the sheriff to find you before your animal goes to auction. See also the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association for resources on brand registration and livestock theft prevention.
What Happens When an Estray Goes Unclaimed in Texas
When no owner comes forward and the animal cannot be identified through brand searches or public notices, Texas law sets a clear timeline that ends with the county taking title and the animal going to sale.
The sheriff’s office first exhausts every reasonable avenue to find the owner. If the search does not reveal the owner, the sheriff shall post a notice of the impoundment on the public notice board of the courthouse and advertise the impoundment in a newspaper of general circulation in the county at least twice during the 15 days after the date of impoundment, or on the county’s internet website for at least 15 days after the date of impoundment.
If a stray animal is not redeemed within three days after the final advertisement in the paper or county internet website, or is not redeemed before the 18th day after the date of impoundment, title to the animal is deemed to pass to the county. Once title transfers, the county controls the animal’s fate.
At that point, the sheriff moves toward sale. The sheriff will sell the animal at a sheriff sale or at a public auction licensed by the USDA. The sheriff receives proceeds from the sale, which are applied in the following order: payment of sale expenses, payment of impoundment fee and other fees due to the sheriff, and payment to the reporting landowner for maintenance or damages.
If sale proceeds remain after all expenses have been paid, the sheriff shall pay the balance to the owner, if known. If the owner is still unknown, the sheriff shall pay the balance to the county official charged with collecting and disbursing county funds, who shall deposit any payment to the credit of the jury fund of the county — subject to claim by the original owner of the estray.
Critically, the original owner does not permanently lose the right to those proceeds. Not later than the 180th day after the date of sale of an estray under Chapter 142, the original owner of the estray may recover the net proceeds of the sale. That is a six-month window to come forward and claim what remains after costs are deducted.
In some cases, the sheriff has flexibility beyond a simple sale. If a sheriff determines that the sale of an estray is unlikely to generate sufficient proceeds to cover the expense of the sale, the sheriff may, instead of selling the estray, donate the estray to a nonprofit organization. This provision prevents the county from losing money on low-value animals while still giving the estray a lawful outcome.
Key Insight: If you are a livestock owner and you discover your animal was sold as an estray, contact your county sheriff’s office immediately and ask about the proceeds claim process under Section 142.014. You have 180 days from the sale date to act.
Understanding the full estray process also connects to broader questions about how Texas regulates animal ownership and movement. If you keep animals on your property or manage land where livestock may wander, it is worth reviewing the pet laws in Texas and the rules on wildlife removal in Texas to understand where your responsibilities begin and end. For those dealing with livestock on or near roadways, the roadkill laws in Texas provide additional context on liability when animals enter public roads.
Texas estray law is a structured system with real consequences for anyone who ignores it — whether you are the person who found the animal or the owner who lost it. Reporting promptly, documenting your costs, and following the sheriff’s process protects you legally and ensures the animal is handled humanely. The Texas State Law Library’s livestock law guide is a reliable starting point if you need to look up the full text of Chapter 142 or related statutes for your county’s specific situation.