Rules of Court

Applicability of District Court Rules of Civil Procedure, see DCRCP rule 81(b)(3).

§142-61 Lawful fence; penalty. (a) Every fence made of stone, posts and rails, posts and boards, posts and wire, or other suitable materials shall be a lawful fence, provided that it is not less than four feet in height, substantially built, strong and close, existing in good state of repair, and capable of turning either all stock or all stock excepting swine, attempting to pass through the fence.

(b) Woven wire, or what is otherwise known also as hog-wire, used as a type of wire by itself or with a combination of barbed wire or plain wire, when supported on posts and properly fastened thereto and meeting the minimum height and stock turning requirements prescribed in subsection (a), shall be a lawful fence.

(c) The sea, rivers, ponds, and natural perpendicular bluffs, whenever impassable, shall be lawful fences.

(d) Whenever fences are built on any boundary, or within the exterior boundaries of any privately owned land or lot, or within the exterior boundaries of any leased public land or lot, to keep animals confined to certain areas or to keep farms protected against the trespass of animals, except on the boundary of any government road, it shall be lawful to have fence wire electrically charged, provided such wire is fastened to insulators supported on posts, and provided also that the charge supplied shall be through an approved electric fence controller which shall be labeled or listed as conforming to the standards of either the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Underwriters Laboratories, Inc., or any other similar institutions of recognized standing, and provided that an electric fence controller intended for use in the State shall bear a recognized commercial trade name and the name of the selling agency of same.

(e) Whenever fences are built on any boundary, including on the boundary of any government road, within the exterior boundaries of any privately owned land or lot, or within the exterior boundaries of any leased public land or lot, to keep animals confined to certain areas or to keep farms protected against the trespass of animals, it shall be lawful to attach electrically charged attachments to the interior side of the fence; provided that in the case of wire fences, it shall be lawful to attach electrically charged attachments only to the interior side of posts supporting the wire; and provided further that no person shall be subject to injury by the electrically charged attachments while the person is on or touches the exterior side of the fence or fence posts.

(f) Any person who constructs or maintains an electrically charged fence or fence with electrically charged attachments not conforming to the requirements of this section shall be fined not more than $500, or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.

(g) Any person who constructs or maintains an electrically charged fence or fence with electrically charged attachments along the boundary of any government road or within the exterior boundaries of any leased public land or lot shall defend, indemnify, and hold harmless, the State, county, or other public entity from all claims, suits, or judgments arising from the use of an electrically charged fence or fence with electrically charged attachments. [L 1907, c 125, §10; RL 1925, §698; RL 1935, §276; am L 1941, c 284, §1; RL 1945, §1082; RL 1955, §20-60; HRS §142-61; am L 1984, c 210, §1; am L 1990, c 23, §2; am L 2012, c 34, §6]

Cross References

Fences and boundaries, see chapter 664.