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. History: Laws 1907, ch. 80, § 4; Code 1915, § 160; Laws 1921, ch. 114, § 1; C.S. 1929, § 4-1504; Laws 1941, ch. 109, § 1; 1941 Comp., § 49-1504; Laws 1953, ch. 19, § 1; 1953 Comp., § 47-14-4; Laws 1977, ch. 165, § 3; 2023, ch. 45, § 7. Cross references. — For impounding of animals running at large in irrigation districts, see 77-14-7 NMSA 1978. The 2023 amendment, effective July 1, 2023, revised procedures for equine estrays; in Subsection B, added "For an estray that is not an equine, the"; and added Subsection C. The 1977 amendment rewrote this section, which formerly dealt with duties of the secretary of the cattle sanitary board and the taking up of estrays.
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