Property Question Forum

[mikeytwoshoes]

If you buy land, are wild animals part of the property?

[JPeavy44]

I'm pretty sure that all the animals on your land are your property

[Anonymous Loser]

But if they wander off, you might not have a greater property right to them than the person who captures them. (Ordinary wild animals v. animus revertendi)

[apper123]

But if they wander off, you might not have a greater property right to them than the person who captures them. (Ordinary wild animals v. animus revertendi)

yea this

[tome]

But if they wander off, you might not have a greater property right to them than the person who captures them. (Ordinary wild animals v. animus revertendi)

You have constructive possession of wild animals on your land. That essentially means we pretend you own them while they remain on your land. That constructive possession ends as soon as the animal wanders off, and you lose all property rights with respect to the animal.

This is interesting largely because the laws governing transient natural resources (i.e. oil and gas) were initially derived from the laws treating wild animals. Wild animal litigation itself is not a booming field. Although, it might as people get hungrier ITE.