If you own livestock in Oregon, the laws that touch your operation come from three levels at once: state statutes on brands, fencing, welfare, and transport; county zoning and livestock district designations; and federal rules on interstate movement, grazing permits, and taxes. Oregon livestock laws don’t sit in one code section, and the specific mix that applies to you depends on what species you raise, where your land is, and whether you move animals across state lines. What follows is the working map.
Brands, Premises Registration, and CAFO Permits
Before you sell cattle, ship them out of state, send them to auction or slaughter, or bring them into Oregon from another state for sale, you need a brand inspection certificate. ORS 604.046 requires it, and a certified brand inspector verifies ownership before issuing the certificate. Transporting cattle out of state without one is its own statutory violation, and any mismatch between the brand on the animal and your records can stall a sale.1Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statute Chapter 604 – Brands and Marks Feedlots
The Oregon Department of Agriculture charges $1.75 per head for brand inspection. Self-inspection E certificates carry the same per-head fee, and printed transportation certificate books cost $3.50 per book plus shipping.2Oregon Secretary of State. OAR 603-014-0095 – Brand Inspection Fees If your brand was recorded in another state and hasn’t been recorded in Oregon, the ODA requires a separate use permit: $60 to process, $5 to renew.3Legal Information Institute. Oregon Admin Code 603-014-0310 – Permits to Use Out-of-State Livestock Brands
Register your premises with the ODA to get a premises identification number (PIN). The PIN links your location to the national animal health database and is required before you can order official RFID tags from manufacturers.4Oregon Department of Agriculture. Premises Identification Registration
Confined animal feeding operations need a CAFO permit. The ODA issues these to prevent manure from reaching surface water or groundwater, working with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality on water quality terms. Large CAFOs and any proposed inside a Groundwater Management Area go through a joint ODA-DEQ review.5Department of Environmental Quality. Confined Animal Feeding Operations and Water Quality Regulation in Oregon
Livestock Districts and Open Range
Oregon uses two systems that flip the burden of containing animals. In open range areas, livestock may roam freely and neighbors who want them off their land must fence them out. In livestock districts, which is Oregon’s term for closed-range areas, the animal owner must keep livestock contained at all times.6Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statute Chapter 607 – Livestock Districts; Stock Running at Large
Districts are formed at the county level through a public hearing process. The designation for your specific parcel is the fact that shapes almost every other question about fencing and liability, so confirm it with the county before assuming either way.
Fencing Standards
Oregon’s fence rules are looser than most owners expect. ORS 608.015 sets no fixed height and mandates no particular materials. A fence is adequate when it matches “the customs and practices of good husbandry in the particular area.” What passes on eastern Oregon rangeland is not what passes in the Willamette Valley. The statute counts wire fences, hedges, ditches, rails, planks, streams, ponds, and natural or artificial barriers of any kind.7Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statute Chapter 608 – Fences; Fence Viewers
If you’re in open range and want to recover for trespassing livestock, you must have enclosed your land with an adequate fence, and you must plead and prove that the fence met local husbandry standards. Sturdy-looking isn’t enough. The species covered by that trespass rule are horse, mule, sheep, goat, and bovine.
Shared Boundary Fences
When a fence sits on the property line and partitions two enclosures, ORS 96.010 requires adjoining landowners to split construction, maintenance, and repair costs equally. If you and your neighbor can’t agree, the party who built or repaired the fence can sue for half its value plus attorney fees and court costs.8OregonLaws. Oregon Revised Statutes 96.010 – Sharing Expenses of Partition Fence The prospect of paying the other side’s attorney fees is what pushes most of these disputes toward settlement.
Liability When Animals Escape
In a livestock district, ORS 607.044 imposes automatic civil liability on any owner who lets an animal run at large on someone else’s land. The injured landowner does not have to prove negligence. If your cow ends up on their property, you owe.6Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statute Chapter 607 – Livestock Districts; Stock Running at Large
Highway collisions raise the stakes. In Dunlap v. Dickson (1988), the Oregon Supreme Court held that while ORS 607.044 creates liability to landowners, a separate common-law negligence claim may also apply when livestock on a road in a livestock district injure a motorist.9Justia. Dunlap v. Dickson, 1988, Oregon Supreme Court Decisions Escape in a livestock district that causes a wreck can produce both statutory liability to landowners and negligence claims from anyone hurt.
In open range, animals are legally allowed to roam, so a landowner generally can’t recover for trespass without an adequate fence. Open range is not a free pass, though. An owner who knowingly lets a dangerous animal roam near homes or roads can still face common-law negligence claims.
Equine Activity Liability
Oregon’s equine activity statutes at ORS 30.687 through 30.697 protect sponsors and professionals from liability for injuries or death of a participant arising from riding, training, driving, or grooming a horse. The protection does not apply if the sponsor or professional acted with willful or wanton disregard for safety, intentionally caused injury, or is subject to a product liability claim, and it does not extend to horse racing.10OregonLaws. Oregon Revised Statutes 30.691 – Limitations on Liability; Exceptions
Zoning and Land Use
Most Oregon livestock sits on land zoned Exclusive Farm Use. Under ORS 215.203, EFU land must be used exclusively for farm purposes, defined as raising and selling crops or livestock for profit. Non-agricultural uses require special permits under ORS 215.213 or 215.283.11Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statute Chapter 215 – County Land Use Planning; Resource Lands
Counties can layer their own setback rules on top. Linn County adopted a one-mile setback for new large poultry CAFOs (750,000 or more broiler chickens annually) after community pushback, and other livestock operations in the same county aren’t subject to it. SB 85 gives counties explicit authority to impose setbacks between farms and neighbors over traffic and odor conflicts, so the answer for your parcel depends on which county you’re in.
Before ODA or DEQ will issue a CAFO permit, you’ll need a land use compatibility statement from the local city or county confirming the proposed use is allowed in that zone. A LUCS showing the use is prohibited ends the state permitting process.12Oregon State Legislature. SB 85 Staff Measure Summary
Transporting Livestock
Moving animals means brand inspection (covered above), animal health documents, and compliance with federal trucking rules.
Health Certificates
Cattle, swine, sheep, and goats entering Oregon require a Certificate of Veterinary Inspection issued by an accredited veterinarian in the state of origin. The ODA administers this under OAR 603-011-1100, previously numbered 603-011-0250 before a 2024 renumbering.13Oregon Secretary of State. OAR Chapter 603 Division 11 – Livestock Health and Sanitation Federal rules at 9 CFR Part 86 separately require an interstate CVI with official identification numbers for cattle and bison moving between states, with exemptions for animals going directly to slaughter and for sexually intact cattle under 18 months.14eCFR. 9 CFR 86.5 – Documentation Requirements for Interstate Movement of Covered Livestock Dairy cattle of any age must carry official identification regardless. Missing paperwork can result in quarantine or seizure at destination.
The 28-Hour Law and the 150-Mile Radius
Federal law prohibits confining livestock in a vehicle for more than 28 consecutive hours during interstate transport. After that, animals must be unloaded for at least five consecutive hours of feed, water, and rest before transport resumes.15National Agricultural Library. Twenty-Eight Hour Law
Livestock haulers operating within a 150 air-mile radius of the source of the animals are exempt from federal Hours of Service rules and don’t need an electronic logging device or paper logs. This applies to both private and for-hire carriers. Once you cross that boundary, HOS rules kick in and logging begins from the point where the radius was exceeded. Time worked inside the radius doesn’t count toward daily or weekly HOS limits.16FMCSA. ELD Hours of Service and Agriculture Exemptions
Animal Welfare, Slaughter, and Carcass Disposal
Oregon’s animal neglect statutes apply fully to livestock. Second-degree neglect under ORS 167.325 covers failing to provide minimum care and is normally a Class B misdemeanor. It escalates to a Class C felony with two or more prior neglect convictions, 11 or more animals involved, or the offense committed in the immediate presence of a minor child.17Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statute Chapter 167 – Offenses Against Animals
First-degree neglect under ORS 167.330 applies when the failure results in serious physical injury or death: ordinarily a Class A misdemeanor, and a Class C felony with the same aggravating factors (prior conviction, 10 or more animals, or in front of a child). Courts can impose probation conditions restricting future livestock ownership or requiring care education.
Oregon requires that cattle, horses, sheep, and swine be rendered insensible to pain before slaughter, whether by a single blow, gunshot, or rapid electrical or chemical means, with an exception for slaughter performed under religious ritual requirements. These rules align with the federal Humane Methods of Slaughter Act.
Carcass disposal falls under ORS Chapter 601. Anyone in the business of disposing of animal carcasses by rendering, burning, burying, or any other method must first obtain a license from the ODA.18Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statute Chapter 601 – Dead Animals For your own dead stock, burial requires that no part of the carcass be closer than four feet to the ground surface, with the remains covered in quicklime and at least four feet of earth. You may not leave a domestic animal carcass within half a mile of a dwelling or within a quarter mile of a running stream for longer than 15 hours without burying or burning it. Burning must not substantially interfere with neighbors, and any remains not fully consumed must then be buried to the same four-foot standard.
Federal Grazing on Public Lands
If you run livestock on Bureau of Land Management or U.S. Forest Service land, you’re on a federal grazing permit. For 2026, the fee is $1.69 per animal unit month, effective March 1. One AUM equals the use of public land by one cow-calf pair, one horse, or five sheep or goats for one month. Under standing Executive Order provisions, the fee cannot drop below $1.35 per AUM, and annual changes are capped at 25 percent of the prior year’s rate.19Bureau of Land Management. BLM, USDA Forest Service Announce 2026 Grazing Fees
BLM can cancel a permit if it was issued due to material error, the permittee fails to comply with permit conditions or federal regulations, or drought or fire makes continued grazing impractical. Before cancellation for noncompliance, BLM must provide written notice and at least 30 days to respond.20eCFR. 43 CFR 4300.71 – Under What Circumstances Can BLM Modify, Reduce, or Cancel My Permit
Taxes and Disaster Programs
Livestock used for breeding, dairy, or draft purposes is depreciable farm property under MACRS. Dairy and breeding cattle get a five-year recovery period under the General Depreciation System, breeding sheep also get five years, and breeding hogs get three years.21Internal Revenue Service. Farmer’s Tax Guide – Publication 225
Selling breeding, dairy, or draft livestock held long enough can qualify for capital gains treatment under Section 1231. The holding period is 24 months for horses and cattle, and 12 months for sheep, hogs, goats, and other livestock. Gain is first reduced by depreciation recapture, which is taxed as ordinary income, and only the remainder is long-term capital gain. For raised livestock where you’ve already deducted rearing costs, basis is typically zero, so nearly the entire sale price may be taxable.
If drought forces you to sell breeding, dairy, or draft livestock earlier than usual, Section 1033(e) of the Internal Revenue Code lets you defer the gain by reinvesting in similar livestock within a prescribed replacement period. The deferral applies only to the excess number of animals sold beyond what your normal practices would have required. Keep documentation of the drought conditions, the gain calculation, and the number and kind of livestock involved.22eCFR. 26 CFR 1.1033(e)-1 – Sale or Exchange of Livestock Solely on Account of Drought
Two USDA disaster programs are worth knowing:
- The Livestock Indemnity Program covers livestock deaths from adverse weather, paying 75 percent of the average fair market value of the lost animal.23Farm Service Agency. Livestock Indemnity Program
- The Livestock Forage Disaster Program compensates for grazing losses on privately owned or cash-leased land during drought, and on federally managed rangeland when fire prevents normal grazing. Eligible species include beef and dairy cattle, horses, goats, sheep, and other commercial livestock. Applications must be submitted by March 1 after the end of the calendar year in which the loss occurred, and missing that deadline forfeits benefits for that year.24Farm Service Agency. Livestock Forage Disaster Program
Penalties and Enforcement
Livestock theft is theft in the first degree under ORS 164.055, a Class C felony carrying up to five years in prison and fines up to $125,000.25Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes 164.055 – Theft in the First Degree26OregonLaws. Oregon Revised Statutes 161.625 – Fines for Felonies Felony animal neglect carries the same maximum fine, and aggravated animal abuse can result in mandatory restitution on top of imprisonment.
On the regulatory side, operating an unpermitted CAFO or transporting uninspected cattle can lead to permit revocation, mandatory corrective actions, and cease-and-desist orders. Fencing violations in a livestock district more commonly produce civil liability to the injured landowner than criminal charges.
Enforcement is split. The ODA handles brand inspection, CAFO permitting, and animal health through its Livestock Health and Identification Division. Report lost or stolen cattle and horses to both local ODA brand inspectors and local law enforcement.27State of Oregon. Lost or Found Livestock County sheriffs handle local enforcement, and the Oregon State Police may become involved in serious cases involving wildlife management or large-scale criminal activity.