(A) Except as otherwise provided in this section, all fields and enclosures in which livestock are kept or placed and that are bordered by a division line between the adjoining properties of different owners shall be enclosed by a preferred partition fence.

Terms Used In Ohio Code 971.02

  • Livestock: means horses, mules, asses, hogs, sheep, goats, cattle, and any other animal that is raised or maintained domestically for food, fiber, or hunting purposes. See Ohio Code 971.01
  • Owner: means both of the following:

    (1) The owner of land in fee simple, of estates for life, of easements, or of rights-of-way while used by the owners thereof as farm outlets;

    (2) Any of the following with regard to any land that it owns, leases, manages, or otherwise controls and that is adjacent to land used to graze livestock:

    (a) The department of natural resources;

    (b) A conservancy district organized under Chapter 6101. See Ohio Code 971.01

  • Partition fence: includes a fence that has been considered a division line between two such properties even though a subsequent land survey indicates that the fence is not located directly on the division line. See Ohio Code 971.01
  • Preferred partition fence: includes a barbed wire, electric, or live fence, provided that the owners of adjoining properties agree, in writing, to allow such fences. See Ohio Code 971.01

(B) Nothing in this chapter prevents an owner from building a fence that exceeds the requirements for a preferred partition fence established under this chapter. The owner building such a fence shall pay all additional costs and expenses of building the fence and maintaining it in good repair.

(C) This section does not apply to either of the following:

(1) The owners of adjoining properties that enter into an agreement in accordance with section 971.04 of the Revised Code;

(2) Fences that were constructed prior to the effective date of this section.

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