- 1. Cattle which are held, moved or transported in violation of the provisions of sections 267.470 to 267.550, or the rules and regulations adopted hereunder, on order of the department of agriculture shall be seized and taken into custody by an authorized agent of the department of agriculture or by any state or county law enforcement officer at the request of the department. The order, together with a notice stating the reasons for the seizure and the rights of the owner under this section, shall be served upon the custodian at the time of seizure and copies thereof shall be mailed to the owner, if a person other than the custodian, by certified mail to his address as given by the custodian within twenty-four hours after the seizure. The department shall impound and hold all cattle seized and taken into custody at the owner's expense and without liability to the department. Any cattle so seized and impounded may be redeemed by the owner and released to him by the department, provided that all such animals shall have been tested for brucellosis and any reactors shall be tagged and branded or tagged as provided by law at the owner's expense. In order to redeem such cattle the owner shall pay all expenses including the care and feeding of such cattle and the expense of testing and branding. Any reactor cattle shall be consigned by the owner to slaughter upon redemption thereof.
- 2. Any person aggrieved by an order of seizure and impoundment may appeal therefrom by filing with the director of the department of agriculture a petition stating in detail his objections to the order, within five days after service or mailing of the order and notice. The director, or his authorized agent, within forty-eight hours of the filing of the appeal, shall hold a hearing to determine the validity of the order and shall either affirm the order or release the cattle. The hearing shall be conducted and judicial review of the director's decision may be had in the manner provided by chapter 536, RSMo. If an order of seizure and impoundment is determined to be invalid, the expense of caring for the cattle and the cost of the proceedings shall be borne by the department of agriculture.
- 3. If the cattle are not redeemed by the owner, and if no appeal is taken within five days after service or mailing of the notice and order of seizure, the department may apply to the circuit court of any county in which the cattle are impounded and the department under court order shall sell the cattle for slaughter and deduct from the net proceeds thereof all expenses of the department in connection with the seizure and impoundment of the cattle and remit the balance to the owner.
(L. 1961 p. 19 § 267.517, A.L. 1978 H.B. 1634)
Effective 1-2-79