Can I shoot my neighbor’s free range chickens if they show up on my property?
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Can I shoot my neighbor’s free range chickens if they show up on my property?
My neighbor’s chickens are constantly on my property. They have done minor property damage like defecating everywhere and digging up mulched trees. I have confronted my neighbor about it but he has not done nothing. I was thinking of buying a shot gun and using it on the chickens. What can I do?
Asked on May 9, 2012 under General Practice, Pennsylvania
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 11 years ago | Contributor
No, if you shoot the chickens, you will likely be liable to your neighbor for their value and may also have committed a crime (e.g. destruction of his property; animal cruelty). The correct way to deal with this situation is--
1) Check local ordinances--are chickens permitted? (In my town, they're not.) If he's breaching code or ordinances, contact the building or health code authorities, who can enforce the law against him.
2) Either instead of or in addition to the above, you could sue your neighbor for--
a) compensation for any property damage, including clean up or re-landscaping costs, his chickens have caused you; and
b) a court order requiring him to keep them off your property.
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