North Dakota Code 47-26-01 – Definition of legal fence
The following shall constitute a legal fence:
Terms Used In North Dakota Code 47-26-01
- following: when used by way of reference to a chapter or other part of a statute means the next preceding or next following chapter or other part. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
1. Any fence four and one-half feet [1.37 meters] high, in good repair, consisting of rails, timber, boards, stone walls, or any combination thereof.
2. All brooks, rivers, ponds, creeks, ditches, or hedges.
3. All things which, in the judgment of the fence viewers within whose jurisdiction the fence may be, are equivalent to the things specified in subsections 1 and 2.
4. Any fence upon which the interested parties may agree.
5. A barbed wire fence consisting of at least three barbed wires with at least number twelve and one-half gauge wire, the wire to be fastened firmly to posts which shall be not more than twenty feet [6.10 meters] or not more than forty feet [12.19 meters] and three stays apart. The top wire shall be not less than forty inches [101.6 centimeters] high, the bottom wire shall be not more than sixteen inches [40.64 centimeters] above the ground, and no two adjacent wires shall be separated by more than sixteen inches [40.64 centimeters].
6. A wire fence consisting of five smooth wires with posts not more than two rods [10.06 meters] apart and with good stays not more than eight feet [2.44 meters] apart, the top wire being not less than forty-eight inches [121.92 centimeters] nor more than fifty-six inches [142.24 centimeters] and the bottom wire being not less than sixteen inches [40.64 centimeters] nor more than twenty inches [50.8 centimeters] above the ground.
7. An electrified fence consisting of:
a. One smooth wire located twenty-six inches to thirty-two inches [66.04 centimeters to 81.28 centimeters] above the ground and posts no more than one hundred feet [30.48 meters] apart; b. Two smooth wires, with the top wire located at least twenty-six inches [66.04 centimeters] above the ground, the bottom wire located eight inches to ten inches [20.32 centimeters to 25.40 centimeters] below the top wire, and posts no more than one hundred feet [30.48 meters] apart; or
c. Three smooth wires, with the top wire located at least twenty-six inches [66.04 centimeters] above the ground, the middle and bottom wires located eight inches to twelve inches [20.32 centimeters to 30.48 centimeters] apart, and posts no more than seventy-five feet [22.86 meters] apart.