This is no hypothetical. In fact, the question was raised this week before the Cache County Council.
On Sunday evening, several cows escaped from a Utah State University-owned pasture near the Utah Agricultural Experiment Station South Farm, 3580 S. U.S. 89-91, in Wellsville.
The unluckiest member of the stray herd was hit by six vehicles, yet caused only minor injuries to drivers and passengers, according to Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Tony Hutson.
The officer verified that a 62-year-old USU farmer, who arrived at the accident scene a few moments later, was cited with a class C misdemeanor because the animals were loose.
A subsequent phone call from a Farm Bureau representative to County Council member Darrel Gibbons prompted a discussion about who is prosecuted and why in these situations.
"He wanted to know if it is the policy to issue citations whenever that happens," Gibbons said.
Cache County Attorney George Daines said the general policy is for the officer at the scene to decide whether to write a ticket.
"Sometimes cows get on the highway because someone hits the fence, or there could be any other number of causes for the cow to be out," Daines said. "It depends on whether there's been a problem in the past, if there's been other cows out or if it caused an accident.
"It's at the discretion of the officer, and we'll use our discretion to decide to prosecute or not."
Noelle Cockett, dean of USU's College of Agriculture, said the accident occurred when a small herd of freshly weaned heifers were "very, very determined to get out of their pens" and broke a fence in the process.
Meanwhile, construction workers building the school's new Agricultural Complex had removed a second layer of protection when they lifted a cattle guard out of the driveway.
"We have definitely addressed the problems," Cockett said.
This isn't the first time Cache-based officers have cited ranchers or farmers when their cows have been involved in accidents. In another case, a December trial has been scheduled for a Cache County rancher charged with manslaughter after a motorist died when her car hit a stray steer.
Darrell Kunzler is charged in the death of 40-year-old Kimberly Johnson, a mother of six from Auburn, Wash. Johnson died about 1 a.m. on Nov. 27, 2004, when she hit the black steer on State Route 30 west of Logan.
The Associated Press reported that Kunzler's attorneys are trying to move the trial because of "excessive and prejudicial media coverage.''
Prosecutors allege Kunzler is a scofflaw who refuses to fix his fences.
abrunson@sltrib.com
