Odd Laws Still on the Books
The cow on the open range has the right of way in court: real Nevada sections
Lists of strange state laws get passed around with no section number attached. Every one below has one, read from the Nevada Revised Statutes.
Who handles this in Nevada: State Bar of Nevada Lawyer Referral Service; and legal aid programs and the state offices, listed in the Nevada directory.
| The law | What it says |
|---|---|
| The lawHitting a cow on the open range | What it saysThe owner of a domestic animal running on open range has no duty to keep it off a highway there, and is not liable for damage or injury from a car hitting it. Open range is unenclosed land outside cities and towns where livestock graze or roam by custom, license, lease or permit. |
| The lawInside the fence | What it saysAn owner who negligently lets an animal into a fenced highway right of way is liable for a collision with it. |
| The lawCleaning up your own dump | What it saysAnyone convicted of illegal dumping is sentenced to clean up the site, every time. |
Many laws that sound strange are county or city ordinances rather than state law, and those differ from place to place; this page covers only the Nevada Revised Statutes. Whether a particular act broke one of these sections is a question for a licensed Nevada attorney.
Sources for this section (3)
- NRS 568.360 — Owners of domestic animals on highways; liability
- NRS 568.355 — Open range defined
- NRS 444.630 — Illegal dumping; criminal penalty; cleanup and community service
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Nevada attorney.