New Mexico § 77-13-4 Owner unknown; publication and posting of notice

New Mexico Statutes

§ 77-13-4 — Owner unknown; publication and posting of notice

New Mexico § 77-13-4

Ch. 77Animals and Livestock

Art. 13Estrays

This text of New Mexico § 77-13-4 (Owner unknown; publication and posting of notice) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New Mexico primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

N.M. Stat. Ann. § 77-13-4 (2026).

Text

A. If the director is unable to determine from the records and description who is the owner or probable owner of an estray, the director shall publish at least once in some publication in general circulation in the county in which the estray animal was picked up, the publication to be designated by the board, a notice of the estray. B. For an estray that is not an equine, the notice shall give a description of the animal, shall state when and where the animal was impounded and shall give notice that unless the animal is claimed by the legal owner within five days after the publication of the notice, the animal shall be sold by the board for the benefit of the owner when found. C. For an estray that is an equine, the notice shall give a description of the equine and shall:

(1)state when an

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A. If the director is unable to determine from the records and description who is the owner or probable owner of an estray, the director shall publish at least once in some publication in general circulation in the county in which the estray animal was picked up, the publication to be designated by the board, a notice of the estray. B. For an estray that is not an equine, the notice shall give a description of the animal, shall state when and where the animal was impounded and shall give notice that unless the animal is claimed by the legal owner within five days after the publication of the notice, the animal shall be sold by the board for the benefit of the owner when found. C. For an estray that is an equine, the notice shall give a description of the equine and shall: (1) state when and where the equine was impounded and shall give notice that, unless the equine is claimed by the legal owner within five days after publication of the notice, a registered equine rescue or retirement facility shall be given the right of first refusal to purchase the equine for an ownership transfer fee equal to all actual costs incurred by the impounding agency in caring for the equine while the equine was impounded; and (2) give notice that if a registered equine rescue or retirement facility is unable or unwilling to purchase the equine, the board shall auction the equine through a sealed-bid process administered by the board and established in rule and that if the equine is not purchased through the sealed-bid process, the board may pursue an alternative placement for care with a last resort option to humanely euthanize the equine by a licensed veterinarian.