Okla. Stat. tit. 4, § 4-85.6

This is the official text of Okla. Stat. tit. 4, § 4-85.6, part of Oklahoma’s Stat. tit. 4, — part of the compiled statutory law of Oklahoma, published by the state as "Stat. tit. 4,." Browse the sections below, each linked to its official government source.

Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.

Sale of unclaimed animals

Official statutory text

A. If a peace officer is unable to determine the owner or

probable owner of any strayed animal from brand records and other

reports of lost, strayed and stolen livestock, the sheriff shall

cause to be published in a newspaper having general circulation in

the county in which the strayed animal has been taken up, a

description of the animal which shall contain sex, age and brand or

brands but shall not contain color, or marks or other descriptive

information. The notice shall be published for two (2) consecutive

weekly issues. If after such publication the sheriff is still

unable to determine the owner, the animal shall be sold by the

sheriff, at either the nearest approved and licensed slaughter

facility or the nearest approved and licensed or federally inspected

livestock auction market from where taken up, inside the State of

Oklahoma.

B. The approved selling firm shall forward by mail to the

sheriff a check for the proceeds and other sales information,

listing a description, sex, weight, selling price per pound and

total sales price less normal and customary marketing fees.

C. The sheriff shall pay to the taker-up of an unclaimed stray

animal the actual cost for keeping it, together with the actual

amount of any damages suffered by the taker-up as a result of the

strayed animal being upon the premises.

D. All remaining money, if any, shall be deposited with the

county treasurer to be held by the treasurer in a special fund from

which payment may be made to a claimant who has been determined by

the district court to be the owner of the stray animal. If not

expended pursuant to court order within one (1) year the funds so

deposited shall be credited to the County General Fund.

Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site

Need a lawyer in Oklahoma?

Find a Oklahoma lawyer
About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the Open US Law dataset (Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine (Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.