Little, 080977 MSAGO, 1977-0001

• Case Date: August 09, 1977
• Court: Mississippi

Mr. Edgar Little, Jr. No. 1977-0001 Mississippi Attorney General Opinions August 9, 1977          Mr. Edgar Little, Jr.          Coroner-Ranger's Department          P. O. Drawer CC          Gulfport, Mississippi 39501          Dear Mr. Little:          Attorney General A. F. Summer has received your letter of request and has assigned it to this writer for research and reply.          In your letter you present several questions for opinion of this office, each of which will be listed below followed immediately with this office's response thereto.

“1. Do the duties of the Ranger include the taking up of livestock which are estrays, or is it the problem of the owner of the land on which the livestock is found to confine the animals, with the Ranger only certifying that the property owner has the estrays confined?”

         In response to your inquiry, the law does not specifically enjoin as a duty of the Ranger the act of taking up estrays. The duties of the Ranger are set forth in detail in Section 69-13-301, Mississippi Code of 1972, (copy attached).

“2. Is it the duty of the County Ranger to keep stray cattle off of County Roads?”

         We find no statute which specifically imposes upon the County Ranger the duty of keeping stray cattle off of county roads.          For your convenience, however, I am enclosing a copy of Section 69-13-101, Mississippi Code of 1972, which section deals with livestock at large on federal or state highways.

“3. Is the Ranger responsible for loose livestock within the corporate limits of a municipality within his County, which has an ordinance against livestock being kept within the city limits, and also the city employs an 'Animal Control Officer'?

         Section 21-19-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, states as follows:          The...