Kent Knudson has a motto that is getting the attention of American ranchers. Happily, it doesn’t affect Canadian ranchers in the slightest. The photo above, taken this spring in Arizona, is a clue.
His motto: Cage cattle, not people.
Knudson lives near Snowflake, in northeastern Arizona, and has a Western Canadian connection. His parents, Elizabeth and the late Melvin Knudson, were raised near Irma, Alta., where he still has family.
Knudson admits his experience with cattle consists primarily of watching Rawhide on television. He especially remembers the dramatic stampedes.
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Knudson is fighting open range laws that exist in Arizona and some other states in U.S. cattle country. Under those laws, also referred to as “no fences,” cattle can roam freely on public lands. Landowners are obliged to fence cattle out of their property if they object to them. Ranchers do not have to fence the cattle in.
Now there is a battle between Knudson, a freelance photographer and acreage owner, and all who defend the long “no fences” tradition of the free American West.
It all began when Knudson and his ailing mother arrived home to find about 30 cattle tramping around the house. The cattle “were in the process of attacking me,” he said in a telephone interview. Whereupon he took his .22 rifle, fired a few shots to scare the animals away, and killed a cow.
Knudson was charged with a felony. Conviction could involve a two-year prison sentence and a fine up to $150,000.
While he awaits court proceedings, he has launched a protest of open range laws. He cites danger to the public as one reason, since cattle frequently wander Arizona roadways and motorists who kill them must reimburse the owner. Or worse: “Can you imagine paying not only to bury your loved one, but paying for the cow that killed him too?” asks Knudson.
Then there is the expense to non-ranchers who must fence their land, the public cost of tax breaks available to those who allow public grazing and the potential environmental damage done by roaming cattle. All in all, Knudson feels he has strong arguments.
In spite of that, he said his neighbours aren’t supportive and the local newspaper, The Pioneer, has publicly branded him “kind of a nut.”
Nut or not, Knudson goes to court July 14. Watch this spot for developments.
