271.280. Recovery of damages by owner, when.
Recovery of damages by owner, when.
271.280. If any person sell, swap, take out of this state orwillfully or negligently injure or abuse any stray before thelegal title thereto shall have vested in him, then the owner, ifhe shall appear and prove such stray within one year from thedate of taking up, may recover double the amount of all damages,with costs; but if in such case the owner do not appear and provethe same within the time limited, the taker-up shall be heldabsolutely liable for the contingent amount with which he standscharged on the stray fund record book, whether he produce saidstray to the collector or not; provided, that if any person,after having posted any stray or strays, desire to remove fromthe county, he may, with the consent of the associate circuitjudge or the successor of the associate circuit judge before whomthe same was or were posted, turn said stray or strays over toany responsible householder of the vicinity in which the originaltaker-up resided, who shall take such stray or strays subject toall the provisions of this chapter, the same as the originaltaker-up; and said associate circuit judge shall make an entrythereof in his stray book, and certify the same to the countyclerk, which certificate shall be by him recorded in the strayrecord of his office, and all costs incurred by the provisions ofthis section shall be paid by the original taker-up; but suchcosts shall in no case become a charge against the animal oranimals taken up.
(RSMo 1939 § 14525)Prior revisions: 1929 § 12851; 1919 § 4341; 1909 § 842