Ranchers has a beef with trespassers after freed cattle cause two wrecks
By Derek Jordan
Herald/Review
Published/Last Modified on Friday, Aug 14, 2009 - 12:39:25 pm MST
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SIERRA VISTA A number of cows from a nearby ranch escaped their range due to damaged fences, causing two separate vehicle wrecks this week.
At 9:23 p.m. Wednesday, the Sierra Vista Police Department received a call about a single-vehicle accident on Charleston Road in which the driver had to swerve to avoid three cows on the road. The driver over-corrected and ran through the fence of the Cochise Memory Gardens cemetery, 5590 E. Charleston Road.
The driver was not injured in the incident.
Less than an hour later, at 10:11 p.m., police received a call about a vehicle that struck a cow in the 300 block of Highway 90.
Police report that the driver initially moved to a different lane to avoid one cow but then struck another.
The driver received minor injuries and was treated at the scene, and the vehicle had to be towed.
No citations were issued in either incident.
Both accidents were the result of cattle escaping from the property belonging to the Finch Cattle Co.
Owner Mike Finch said that, due mainly to local hikers and ATV riders looking to cross onto his property, it is a daily struggle to repair the barbed wire fence encircling his land.
His holdings are along Charleston Road to Moson Road as well as along parts of Buffalo Soldier Trail and Highway 92 east of the mall.
的t痴 a day-to-day struggle, Finch said.
He can sympathize with those who appreciate the outdoors and want to spend time riding four-wheelers and hiking, Finch said. However, trying to keep up with repairs to his fence is proving daunting.
展e do everything we can to cater to them, he said, including leaving gates open along the fence to allow people to pass through if need be.
It is not uncommon for Finch to drive more than 100 miles in a day along the outskirts of his property in order to make repairs to his fence, he said.
Finch said that while some of the damages are caused by illegal immigrants crossing into the country, the majority of damage is caused by hikers and ATV riders.
The loss of a single head of cattle can cost approximately $4,000, he said.
Despite the constant repairs keeping him busy and the financial impact of losing cattle, foremost in Finch痴 mind, he said, is what should happen if someone driving on a road one night is seriously hurt because one of his cattle got out and onto the roadway.
的t痴 not so much the cattle, it痴 somebody痴 life, he said. 典hat痴 something I致e got to live with, and something they致e got to live with.廿BR>
Finch said that he hopes anyone looking to take a short cut through fenced property will think of these dangers next time and reconsider cutting down or otherwise damaging a fence.
Herald/Review reporter Derek Jordan can be reached at 515-4680 or by e-mail at
derek.jordan@svherald.com.