74-605.

Injured animals; care; violation; penalty.

Whenever any horse, cow, or other domestic animal is injured on the right-of-way of any railroad, the trackwalkers and section personnel of the railroad shall care for the animal at once and report the facts to the nearest station agent. If the animal is injured by a train, such member of the train crew as is required by the railroad shall, upon arriving at the first communications facility, notify the person in charge of the track of the fact, and such person shall at once notify the railroad employee having charge of the section upon which the animal is injured who shall at once care for the animal. If any such animal is maimed beyond hope of recovery, such persons shall kill the animal at once. When the animal is not killed, the section official shall give immediate notice, when possible, of the condition of the animal to the owner or his or her agent who shall have the animal cared for at once. When immediate notice to the owner is not possible, the section official shall have the injured animal properly cared for at once. No act of the railroad, its employees or agents, or the owner of an injured animal pursuant to this section shall be held to be an admission of liability or responsibility on the part of the railroad for the injury of the animal nor a waiver or relinquishment by the owner of any right or claim to damages from the railroad. Any person who violates any provision of this section shall be guilty of a Class V misdemeanor.