ARGH! Yet another parent/neighbor of the year winner

[ShinyGreenApple]

Earlier today, I saw some kids running down the road throwing dirt clods at each other and laughing. (We have a dirt road). Didn't think much of it.

Later, I went outside to help Mom with the usual feeding-of-the animals routine, and was more than bemused to see her getting chairs and a stepladder to assist three neighborhood kids out of our animal pens. Hu-wah?! Below is a rough idea of how this area of our yard is laid out, with the mare's area being roughly two acres.

http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/3850/pasturelayoutkp3.png

Pay close attention to the left side of the drawing; that's right, there are TWO fences between ourselves and the neighboring field, one being cow fence, the other cow fence with boards. It is also closed off from the front of the property, so that no one/nothing can get into the narrow space between the fences. Apparently, kiddos came from said neighboring yard, as it belongs to their grandmother.

And here's a fun little question for you, can you guess which animal pen they were in?

If you picked "Ram #1", you get a cookie. I cannot think of a more unfortunate place to end up in, really. All of these kids were under the age of nine, and climbed into a pen with a fully grown, highly aggressive male animal, whose instinct is to slam his head into anything that comes near him, even if he's just saying "Hi." This same animal was responsible for cracking my Dad in the ribs a few years back.

Mom gathered that they all thought it was really funny that he did end up knocking down the smallest of the three, while mom is nearly hyperventilating over the fact that they were in there at all.

That's not the best part. It would also seem that in order to get to what they decided was their personal petting zoo, they climbed over their grandma's fence, over BOTH of ours, went THROUGH the pasture, petted harassed both horses**, and then into the sheep area.

** As I said in the drawing, our mare is not a happy camper right now. She's about 9 or ten months pregnant, can no longer buck and kick out her legs without peeing all over herself, has been in "pissed off" mode for over two weeks, and will take out her hormonal whims on anything or anyone that dares breathe the same air as her. The stallion, on the other hand, is confined to a round pen because prior to us buying him, had zero human handling and was just left in a field with other horses; we're still teaching him how to lead and such. He's not quite three years old, very flighty, quite spirited, and prone to the occasional temper tantrum. We're not sure, but we think we saw little footprints IN his corral.

Are those of you with children pulling your hair out yet? Holy hell, but when I think about all the things that could have happened. Mom just walked down to the neighbor's house to inform the mother what had transpired, and all she got was a shrug and "Oh well, kids will be kids! I guess I'll ground them for a couple weeks."

:doh:

WHAT THE FUCK.

Also, ram #2 is bleeding a little on his head, hopefully all he did was slam his head into a fencepost, but still . . . bah.

Lovely neighbors. Lovely kids. Lovely parents. :rolleyes:

[Chained to the counter]

Neighbour lady wouldn't be saying kids will be kids if one of her little darlings go hurt by the ram or any of the other animals on your property, she'll be trying to sue the pants off you.

Then again you could turn around and say the little monsters were trespassing on your property.

[BookstoreEscapee]

Then again you could turn around and say the little monsters were trespassing on your property.

But they're juuuust kiiiids!!!

[blas]

Wow.....how dumb!

I'll trade you. I'm starting to wish for the crackwhore elephant back as a neighbor, because Sheriff and Tommy Lee have been driving me nuts lately.

[Bright_Star]

They're lucky they didn't get seriously injured or there'd be hell to pay.

[Amethyst Hunter]

Hell, I don't even have kids and I'm going :eek:! An animal the size of a small car and with a bad temper to boot is nothing to sneeze at - those fools could've been killed.

I hope you gave them and their parents a good talking-to on the importance of 1) respecting others' property and 'no-trespassing' signs, and 2) the dangers of messing with large animals.

On a similar note, I was just reminded of an incident years ago when I was a kid and my maternal grandmother was still living...We'd gone to a small zoo in the city where Grandma lived at the time, and this zoo happened to have a few buffaloes. If you've never seen a buffalo in the flesh before, they are FREAKING HUGE. To say that they are just under the size of Mount Rushmore is not an understatement.

These two kids (I forget how old they were but they were definitely old enough to know better) were standing in front of the fence throwing rocks at the buffaloes. My mom and grandma stopped them and gave them a good what-for, and they skittled off with tails between their legs. Seriously, YOU DON'T ANTAGONIZE AN ANIMAL THAT CAN SQUASH YOUR ASS WITH ONE STOMP!!

[Cia]

Every year there is at least one tourist who thinks the 'Buffalo are wild animals. Stay in your car' signs in Custer State Park doesn't apply to them. They get out and get in between a mama fuballo and her calf. Buffalos can move pretty damn fast when they want to.

[Gravekeeper]

I wouldn't mess with a horse or ram to begin with, but buffalo? O.o

I don't mess with anything that can potentially kill, wound or cripple me for life. Thats why you own cats. Because they can only do 1d3 damage. Which is potentially only enough to kill a level 1 wizard.

[Eireann]

I'm sure I've posted this before, but it bears repeating.

My sister worked one summer in Yellowstone, and returned with many stories of stupid tourists. Getting out of their cars to take pictures was a favorite pastime, it seems (and most likely, still is).

One woman tried to get close to a buffalo to take a photo.

The buffalo gored her.

In the butt!

Can you imagine coming home from vacation and telling people what had happened to you? I'd move to another country and change my name.

[Princess-Snake]

Apparently, there's a sign on some buffalo field somewhere (so I'm told, I've never actually seen it.) that says, "Warning: Unless you can cross this field in 9 seconds, don't attempt it. The buffalo can do it in 10."

[crazylegs]

They get out and get in between a mama fuballo and her calf. Buffalos can move pretty damn fast when they want to.

Do I hear Darwin Award...? Seriously, who in their right mind gets between an animal and its child... Oops, there comes that logic again...

[PepperElf]

i'd say... talk to the kids' parents and bluntly say that you don't want the kids running through your yard.

but... sometimes the dangers won't matter to them, and you ahve to use alternative means of convincing the parents to keep their kids out of your yard.


mom had to ask one lady to keep her sons out of our yard, mentioning the dangers of our swingset, but the lady ... burst into tears (wtf?) and was upset with the request. So mom use Tactic B, and let the lady know that, during the summer, sis & I would run through the house wearing just t-shirts & panties...

:devil: Worked like a charm. :devil:

[ShinyGreenApple]

I'll second crazylegs on the Darwin Award.

Get between large, protective mama animal and her baby - does not compute. :eek: Going back to horses, I know how mamas can be. They really don't care who or what they have to injure or kill to get their baby back.

Ach, now you've all got me thinking of how we're going to keep the rugrats out after Sweet Tart foals; they'll no doubt be trying to get in to see a baby horse >< lol

Dad's been wanting to put up electric fence for a while now though, so we can let the stallion out of his round pen, so maybe this'll be what tips the scale and convinces him. Mom called him last night and told him what happened, and he says when he comes home, he'd like to go down there and give them a good yelling at. I mean seriously, I knew from a very young age that it was not ok to go to someone's house or on their property without asking/being invited first, and it was NEVER ok to climb a fence.

And though our pets are potentially quite dangerous, I hope no one got the impression that we're housing a bunch of monsters :lol: You just have to know how to handle them, and knowing all their different little personalities and quirks helps loads. They're all quite sweet, actually, even ram #1. He was a bottle-fed lamb and is like my kid, even if he is 90 pounds of solid muscle and bone and tries to ram me. Same for the horses. If you don't know them, you won't know how to behave around them, and these kids just don't seem to understand that you can't be waltzing around in their territories and petting them.

[Saydrah]

Are you breeding Sweet Tart back to the stallion? Because if you let him out with her again, as I'm sure you know, he'll breed her again on the foaling heat... for her health though, it might be better to wait a year.

I'm all for letting studs be around pregnant mares, though- it teaches them manners! I'm actually quite fond of stallions, though I think at lest 90% of intact studs are not of breeding quality and ought to be gelded- but I like their personalities. Guess that's lucky since my gelding thinks he IS one. :rolleyes:

ETA: I adore rams. They are so silly!

[ShinyGreenApple]

No, we probably won't be breeding her back in the foal heat, and Walker (the stud) will be hopefully getting his own area in the woods, next to where the ewes are being kept. If the baby is a filly, we might end up selling her when she's weaned and re-breeding, but we'll burn that bridge when we get there. When we bred them, it was the funniest thing . . . Sweet Tart is a very headstrong little mare. Walker managed to put her in a corner and make her stay there until she was ready to be civil with him and not attempt to kick him into the middle of next week. And oddly enough, he wasn't so skittish about us touching him since she made it a priority to nibble every last inch of him.

As far as stallions go, they're not too different from geldings, actually, despite many non-horsey people thinking that stallion=wild :rolleyes:

We used to have a Morgan/stock stud that I could ride when there were mares in season nearby, and all he'd do was strut and flare his nostrils.

And rams make life more interesting :D

[Saydrah]

Yeah, I agree- some stallions really ARE wild, but mostly it is from isolation from other horses making them crazy!

I used to work with a Spanish Mustang stallion used as a teaser (POOR GUY) and he was the sweetest. I saddle broke him with no trouble at all. Now he's a gelding and happily carting around a beginner. And the stud I have a breeding to (for if I ever have a mare) was once owned by a dad for his two year old daughter, who could literally do ANYTHING with the stud- hang on his legs, spray him with the hose, and he just adored her.

[ShinyGreenApple]

OMG, they did it again!

My Dad was home and had to run to town for a while, which meant my car wouldn't be in the drive. They came, parked their bikes smack in the middle of the road, climbed the fence, and headed for Bobo (Ram #1) AGAIN. It would appear that yesterday's little excursion was not a first time thing. They just about panicked when they saw Mom headed outside, and tried to double back (one of them wasn't watching where she was going and nearly collided with an already freaked out Sweet Tart), but my nephew cornered them and Mom was able to give them a talking to; she said if the come in again, she'll send the police to their house.

Dad came home and talked to them as well as their 'parents' (I understand Daddy dearest just got out of prison :rolleyes: ) but I doubt any of it sank in. However, he did manage to learn that this in fact, has been going on for a while, and it's part of their afternoon game to come over and see who can try to ride the rams and stay on them the longest. I honestly don't know whether to laugh or cry. The youngest of these kids, I found out, is seven, which I feel is definitely old enough to know better!Their mother seems to be proud of the fact that "Oh, that's right, they're not afraid of animals, never have been!"

Um, hello?! Just because you're not afraid of something doesn't mean it can't still hurt you.

:headdesk:

Looks like we'll be making a trip to the home improvement store and spending a few days putting up the electric fence. What a fun birthday I'm going to have . . . :lol:

[Amethyst Hunter]

Lawsuit. Seriously. (Or at least the threat of one) Those kids need to learn NOW that they'd better stay out of your pens *before* an accident happens - which it will, sooner or later, if this is allowed to go on.

"The next time I catch your kids trespassing on my property and harassing my animals, you WILL be hearing from my lawyer/the police. Those animals are large enough and strong enough to inflict serious damage, even death, on a grown human being; what do you think will happen to your kids if one of them suddenly is spooked and decides to trample them?"

Yeebus, people! Do your fricken job and PARENT for a change!!**

On a semi-related note, have any of you horsefolk read the books by Monty Roberts? (I forget their names but search his name and you'll find 'em) Good, good stories.







** = Not directed at all parents, just the bad ones that shrug off their kids' misdeeds like these kind.

[hecubus]

Talking about kids and dangerous animals reminds me of something I saw at Yellowstone years ago. As my family and I were driving through the park, we saw a guy trying to take a picture of his kid and a bear. A large brown bear, to be exact. He was encouraging his kid to try and coax the bear over to him (the kid) And how was he doing that, you might ask? Well, the kid was holding out a slice of bread to the bear! And to make matters worse, the kid had the rest of the loaf of bread under his arm!

I can just imagine what would have happened had the bear decided, "Hey,. to heck with the slice, I'm going for the loaf!"

I wonder if that kid ever managed to grow up.

[ShinyGreenApple]

Lawsuit. Seriously. (Or at least the threat of one) Those kids need to learn NOW that they'd better stay out of your pens *before* an accident happens - which it will, sooner or later, if this is allowed to go on.

"The next time I catch your kids trespassing on my property and harassing my animals, you WILL be hearing from my lawyer/the police.

Mom actually got shaken/fed up enough today that she called the police department earlier this evening. The officer who returned her asked for the name and location of said parents and guess what, this isn't the first time something like this has been reported to him regarding these people, and that he will be paying them a visit regarding the animals. He says that kids under the age of ten are supposed to be accompanied by an adult in the first place, not wandering about, and to more thoroughly cover *our* backsides, we should invest in a few "No Trespassing" signs.

Really, you need to have SIGNS up now so that people will know it's not ok to climb fences?! My faith in humanity wanes each and every day.

And BTW, yes, I have read Mr. Roberts' book. :) It's been ages though.

[Seshat]

I was going to say notify the police. You need police records that it's been an ongoing problem and you and yours have been trying to resolve it equitably.

It's a 'cover your ass' thing: WHEN one of the rams tosses little Bobby and cracks his skull into a fence/breaks his leg/whatever, you will NEED proof that you and yours have been telling little Bobby's parents that Bobby is NOT allowed to go pet the ram.

Yes, even though common sense dictates that Bobby shouldn't be in their in the first place. Bobby's parents WILL tell the judge you said he could - and your police reports saying otherwise will tell the judge who's lying.

[Liminality]

Wow. O_O It's amazing the kids didn't get completely mauled!

I hope that you can make them stay away from now on, and that the animals' encounters with them hasn't made them trust your family (and any other handlers they have) any less.

[XCashier]

I was going to say notify the police. You need police records that it's been an ongoing problem and you and yours have been trying to resolve it equitably.
Yes, please notify the police and start a paper trail. Cover Your Arse. You just know the Loser Family is going to be trouble when -- not if, when -- one of their Precious Little Darling Angels gets hurt by the Big Bad Ram. :rolleyes:

Stupid people vs hooved animals. Reminds me of this thread (http://www.customerssuck.com/board/showthread.php?t=7469). Seriously, how stupid do you have to be to deliberately antagonize an animal big enough to stomp you into mulch? Or with heavy horns and hard hooves capable of breaking a rib or six? :salmon:

[Misanthropical]

I'm convinced that some parents let their children do thing that could harm or kill the child in hopes of a huge lawsuit. They don't give two shits about their child, so they hope the child does something that will bring in the $$$.

[Igorina]

Reading this thread, all I can think is: It's a good thing your farm doesn't have pigs.

Or those kids would have just been head-butted, they might have been eaten.

[Lace Neil Singer]

This reminds me of all the trouble I and the other staff had at the country park, with the Highland steer. For the uninitiated, this is a Highland: http://www.kenscottphotography.com/ksp/leeent/2005/steer.jpg

Our one looked exactly like the photo, even to the horns. This was a pretty bad tempered beast, he often tried to squash people if they climbed into his pen and he charged two members of staff, one of which was me, on two different occasions.

However, that didn't stop stupid parents letting their equally dimwitted offspring climb into the pen to pet the "cute furry cow". -.-

[Kaylyn]

Thats why you own cats. Because they can only do 1d3 damage. Which is potentially only enough to kill a level 1 wizard.

Hmm, yeah, only if they had at least a -1 penalty to their Constitution though...and I let my players cheat when generating ability scores so they never have penalties.

Sorry, we're playing D&D tonight and I'm all in the mood. :P

[aniwahya]

In reading this thread I'm shocked that no one has mentioned meter readers. I can't be the only large dog (german shepard) owner who has had to deal with meter readers jumping their fence, despite it being 6 feet with clearly posted "BEWARE OF VICIOUS TASTY FLESH DEVOURING CARNIVOROUS BEAST" signs.
And having had a very, very unfriendly dog who just simply did not like strangers (this worked in my favor once where a guy saw me walking when i was 10 and tried to get me into his car and got the 90lbs pissed off shepard instead ^^). People would approach her while I was walking her, or had her tied up on the porch, and try and pet the 90lbs snarling, obviously unfriendly (fur all up along the back tail moving in the BAD direction, spittle flying from snapping/barking) and try to pet her. Then they would get pissed when I told them to back the hell off NOW before the dog bit them, or worse, before I bit them. -.-
People are stupid and seem to live according to the rule that anytime reality doesn't conform to what they think it should be, that it isn't really reality and real reality is exactly what they wanted it to be in the first place.

Electrifying the fence is good, but is there anyway you can rig an alarm system? Or even have some way of getting video evidence of them illegally crossing the fence? Bear traps? :devil: Things like this never end well, and unfortunately it's the people who haven't done anything wrong who usually get screwed because the people in the wrong don't give a damn about anyone and will lie their asses off.

[XCashier]

And having had a very, very unfriendly dog who just simply did not like strangers (this worked in my favor once where a guy saw me walking when i was 10 and tried to get me into his car and got the 90lbs pissed off shepard instead ^^).
GO DOG!!! :yourock: Seriously, that's scary, and I'm glad you had a four-legged protector with you.

People just don't have any sense around animals. Too many Disney cartoons and not enough real life, I guess.

[Tanasi]

I've had problems off and on over the years with people (mostly kids) trespassing in my pasture. So far only one had to learn the hardway. He was in the bull lot and was messing around with my Black Angus bull. Said bull slung his head hit the kid and knocked him for a loop. Not so much bulls but cows and steers will kick you if given a chance. Several years ago I was seperating some cattle and a big Holstein steer kicked me and broke my leg (thigh), the next year I was trying to get a neighbors dog off of my kids show heifer and she knocked me down, stepped on me and broke my hip (same leg). The cattle are fairly docile my mules on the other hand are aggressive. They'll kick you, stomp you and bite you. I run them with the cattle because they'll killed coyotes and dogs. We have some goats but they're mostly harmless. My daughters rabbits are decendents of the rabbit from "The Holy Grail".
All that being typed, I have electric fencing all around my pasture. It keeps my critters in and most unwanted critters out. My fence charger will hit you with a mild jolt at first but if you stay on it, it will ramp up the power and I've seen where it will burn it's way through a tree limb.

[ShinyGreenApple]

So far, we haven't had any more repeat adventures with the brats, but we're in the process of putting up the electric fence as we speak. Maybe it'll also keep Sweet Tart from rubbing her arse on the fence and pushing it down :devil:

[aniwahya]

Oh! Make sure you put up signs*. While it will spoil some of the fun of "Surprise brats, yer toast!" it will help in case the parents decide to sue you for putting up something that may hurt their darlings.
*Or talk to a local cop and find out if there are any laws in place stating that you need X number of signs, or if they aren't necessary but something else is.

[Aethian]

A little bit of a hijack but...it was funny.

Moved to a reletivly populated area with problem apartments not more then a couple miles away. Anyhoo my sled team was out and enjoying the snow while the snow could still kill the urge to scratch out the loose fur and cause problems. Well I was in the bathroom and getting ready for a shower and I hear sirens that sound like their getting close. Not thinking anything of it I continue on with my shower till I hear a loud crash and have one of my darlings running into the bathroom door and popping it to bark at me. Wrapping a towel about myself I struggle to also get on my robe and head out to where the other seven LARGE huskies are. There is a guy surrounded and hanging on to dear life to a shade treee I have. And a couple cops trying to figure out how to get the guy out of the pen.

So I appear, give the command and all dogs line up as if I was hooking them up and lay down expecting their harness to be changed. The guy starts to get down and my big alpha looks over and just barrs his teeth a bit and the guy scrambles back up and I hear some snickering from the cops. Ushing my pack inside I let them take the treed criminal out, give some information show off registered tags and my license to have all eight and finally return to my shower.


So it doesn't matter how old someone gets they WILL jump a fence even with signs saying beware of animals.

[protege]

Really, you need to have SIGNS up now so that people will know it's not ok to climb fences?! My faith in humanity wanes each and every day.

You can blame the idiots who serve on juries for that one. These are the same people who awarded damaged to the families of idiots who were killed while tipping Coke machines in an attempt to get free sodas. Why? Because there was no warning sign on the machines. I'd just like to ask those idiots... That machine weighs over a ton, why the hell would you want to put yourself in danger? Is that $1 soda *really* worth it?

Then there are the idiots who got killed along Amtrak's Northeast Corridor awhile back. (For those who don't know, the NEC runs mainly electric locomotives and multiple-unit cars from DC to Boston.) Anyway, these fools climbed a boxcar, and somehow touched the overhead wire...and got fried. Their families sued not only Amtrak, but NJ Transit...because, there were no warning signs. Never mind the "no trespassing signs" that *are* along the Corridor. Nope, never mind that the locomotives and some cars get their power (which is multiple times that commonly found in houses) from overhead wires...it was still safe to touch. Because of all this, some railroads do *not* like railfans, and *will* arrest them on sight. The Union RR near Pittsburgh is one. I've never had the pleasure, but I've heard of plenty of horror stories...

What I'm trying to say is, that whenever someone does something stupid, it's never their fault. It's the landowner's for not having signs, it's the railroad's for not "making enough noise" (which is actually funny, since some people *bitch* about the horns...), or the company's for "taking advantage of people." Pardon my French, but give me a fucking break. You do something stupid and get hurt, too bad. You knew it was stupid, yet you do it anyway. Suck it up, and take the consequences.

[Dreamstalker]

A few weeks ago a lady was killed in CT along the NEC...from what I can figure she was walking her dog on or very close to the tracks. Doing so along overgrown/unused tracks is one thing, but along an obviously active line?! You can't make me believe there weren't signs of some sort...

[ShinyGreenApple]

Hmm, I thought it was common knowledge that you don't play on or near railroad tracks. Come on people, these are the things we learn as very small children ><

And since this thread has been revived, I thought I would just let you all know that six of the "No Trespassing" signs that Mom nailed to our fences are either missing, or ripped in half and thrown over the fence. The ones in the front and side areas, of course. The ones out back in the woods are still intact. :mad:

Despite this though, we've had no more instances of unwanted visitors. The horses are still skittish every now and then, however, but we've got no way of proving that they're being bothered or if they're just having their horsey moods.

I'm also a bit worried that we'll have renewed attempts from the little hoodlums after our foal is born.

[myswtghst]

Glad to hear it seems to be improving. Continue putting the signs up, and maybe think about doing something either with the electric fence, or with video camers, once the foal is born. I'd also think about pre-emptively contacting the police, just to let them know that you're worried the hoodlums will start up again with a pretty baby horsey around.

Good luck!

[Lace Neil Singer]

My view is that this kind of thing is natural selection taking place... so we should just stop saving these morons from their own idiocy and let Darwin's rule take its course. XD

[FuzzyKitten99]

Hmm, I thought it was common knowledge that you don't play on or near railroad tracks. Come on people, these are the things we learn as very small children ><

And since this thread has been revived, I thought I would just let you all know that six of the "No Trespassing" signs that Mom nailed to our fences are either missing, or ripped in half and thrown over the fence. The ones in the front and side areas, of course. The ones out back in the woods are still intact. :mad:

Despite this though, we've had no more instances of unwanted visitors. The horses are still skittish every now and then, however, but we've got no way of proving that they're being bothered or if they're just having their horsey moods.

I'm also a bit worried that we'll have renewed attempts from the little hoodlums after our foal is born.

For your signs, get a few metal ones made. They're rather inexpensive, and can often be made with the same reflective material that road signs are made of. The company my husband used to work for ( www.ntsindustries.com ) makes them. My MIL is friends with the owner's wife. Maybe contact them for a quote. Then have them bolted to the fences using lug bolts, and the others bolted to sign posts that are sunk into 2ft holes filled with concrete. Then the kids would have to really work to get them off.

[Geek King]

Maybe get a cheap-o web cam to point out the window and record. You won't be able to get faces, but you'll be able to see if someone is doing something to the horses to make them antsy.

[XCashier]

My view is that this kind of thing is natural selection taking place... so we should just stop saving these morons from their own idiocy and let Darwin's rule take its course. XD
Unfortunately, if those idiotic brats win their Darwin Awards on the Barbossa property, their parents would sue the Barbossas. And nobody wants to have to pay for the stupidity of others, or deal with a lawsuit even if they are in the right.

I like the ideas of bolted-down metal signs and a camera setup. Maybe also a shotgun loaded with rock salt? :devil:

[Lace Neil Singer]

I meant with the ability to sue being removed from all relatives of Darwin Award winners, of course. Otherwise, where's the fun?

[Andara Bledin]

Those neighbors could use a good trout-slapping!

I, too, suggest some proper metal signs with permanent fixtures. Make it something that will take a lot of time and effort to remove.

I also agree on the whole camera angle. You can actually get some nice and cheap wireless security cameras that are fairly tiny for monitoring this type of situation. That way, you could keep track of what's going on in your yard, even if nobody else knows you can.

And if they're hooked up properly, you can monitor them with your computer, and if necessary, record video footage of what they see.

Anyway, these fools climbed a boxcar, and somehow touched the overhead wire...and got fried. Their families sued not only Amtrak, but NJ Transit...because, there were no warning signs. Never mind the "no trespassing signs" that *are* along the Corridor. Nope, never mind that the locomotives and some cars get their power (which is multiple times that commonly found in houses) from overhead wires...it was still safe to touch.

Close, but not quite (http://www.onpointnews.com/061107.asp). You see, neither of the plaintiffs in that case actually touched the wire. Because of the fact that such wires can arc, and that it happened in a side yard that didn't actually require a live wire at the time in question, it was prosecuted under the "attractive nuisance" law. I still think it's stupid, but I can certainly understand why a jury would feel that since you only have to be close to the wire, that there should be some signage to that effect since it is not a well known fact.

^-.-^