|
MISSION OF SHERIFF'S OFFICE ESTRAY OFFICERS:
The mission of the Comal
County Sheriff's Office Estray Officers is to protect
all livestock from harm, theft or from roaming at large.
We will enforce all applicable laws to safeguard the
welfare of the public and the livestock. The Estray
Officers could better be described as the "Livestock
Unit".
This Unit is responsible for enforcing all applicable
laws and with particular emphasis on the Livestock Laws
of the State of Texas and the Texas Agriculture Code.
The Texas Agriculture code deems "Estray" as stray
livestock, stray exotic livestock, or stray exotic fowl.
Loose livestock or Estrays are a major concern in Comal
County. The estray problem creates a danger of property
damage and even death on our roadways. With the
continual growth in population and more cars on the
roadways the problem continues to grow. The Texas
Legislature has assigned the duties to the Sheriff of
each county to deal with the problem.
The Livestock/Estray Office is responsible for
transporting, selling and filing notice of livestock.
The general procedure once livestock is impounded by the
Sheriff Office, the Sheriff’s designees make a diligent
search for the identity of the owner of the Estray,
including a search in the Comal County resister of
recorded brands, if the animal has an identifiable
brand. If the search does not reveal the owner, a notice
of Estray is filed at the County Clerk Office, in a
Newspaper and on the County website for at least 15 days
after the date of impoundment.
When estray is redeemed by owner, in a reasonable time
(within 18 days) a redemption payment (reasonable amount
for maintenance and damages) will be collected, and
estray released to owner.
Estray not redeemed by owner within the reasonable time,
the sheriff shall sell the Estray at Sheriff Sale or
Public Auction. Note, owner may recover possession of
Estray at any time before sale if owner provided an
Affidavit of Ownership.
|
