Colorado is a "fence-out" state. Under C.R.S. 35-46, a landowner must build a lawful fence to recover damages when livestock stray onto their land. Livestock owners are liable if animals graze at large in town or on roads behind an adequate fence.
Colorado follows open-range (fence-out) rules in Title 35, Article 46. C.R.S. 35-46-102 lets a person who maintains a "lawful fence" recover damages when someone else's livestock break through it, but denies recovery if the crops were not protected by such a fence. A lawful fence is defined in 35-46-101 as a well-constructed three-barbed-wire fence with substantial posts about twenty feet apart. C.R.S. 35-46-105 makes it unlawful to knowingly let livestock graze or run at large in any municipality, road, or highway that is fenced off from the owner's range. Larimer County Code Sec. 6-1 defines livestock as cattle, horses, sheep, poultry, swine, llamas, goats, and similar working farm animals.
Knowingly permitting livestock to graze or run at large in a municipality or on a fenced-off road is a civil infraction under C.R.S. 35-46-105; state troopers and sheriffs must charge violators.
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See how Larimer County's livestock rules stack up against other locations.
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