Any person who finds running at large about his or her residence or premises or the residence or premises of which he or she has charge any equine or equidae, cattle, hog, sheep, or goat, the owner of which is unknown, may take up such animal as an estray to be disposed of as provided in Sections 3-2-2 to 3-2-4, inclusive.

(a) Within five days after taking up an estray, notice of the seizure of such estray shall be furnished to the Department of Agriculture and Industries, accompanied by a complete description of the animal together with the time and place of seizure and the name and address of the seizor. The animal shall be described in such notice by kind, size, sex, markings, brands, color, stature and age.

(b) The seizor shall have a lien on the animal for the cost of keeping it and for the amount of any reasonable damages he may have suffered as a result of the animal being upon his premises.

The Director of Public Safety shall provide for taking up and impounding livestock or animals running at large upon state and federal aid highways which have been officially designated as such and regularly and customarily patrolled by the state highway patrol or upon the rights-of-way of such highways and, to that end, within the limit of the funds provided by this article, the Director of Public Safety is hereby authorized and empowered to contract with persons, firms or corporations within the several counties to take possession of and impound such livestock or animals.

(a) The owner of any livestock taken up and impounded as provided in Section 3-2-20, if known, shall be served personally with notice thereof, which notice shall specify the number and kind of livestock or animals impounded. If the owner of any livestock or animal taken up is unknown or cannot be located, the officer or person taking up the livestock or animal shall, within two days after so taking it up, file a notice in writing with the judge of probate of the county where the livestock or animals were estray. The judge of probate shall record such notice in a book showing a description of the animal and the place where picked up and the date and, for such service, shall be entitled to charge a fee of not exceeding $.50 to be collected from the impounder.

(b) The owner of such livestock or animals shall have the right to secure the return thereof, within 10 days from the date of the notice provided for in subsection (a) of this section, upon the payment of a fee of $10.00 for the first and $1.00 for each additional head of livestock so taken up, not to exceed $100.00 for any one seizure regardless of the number of animals seized, together with the actual cost of feeding the same during the period held, and the probate recording fee.

If the owner or his agent shall not reclaim his livestock or animal within the time allowed in this article, the poundkeeper or officer shall sell the same upon giving five days' notice of such sale by publication one time in a newspaper published in the county, said notice to contain a brief description of the livestock or animal to be sold and the time and place of sale, and out of the proceeds he shall pay the cost and expenses of taking up, keeping and caring for such livestock or animal, the cost of the sale and the fees provided for in Sections 3-2-20 through 3-2-23 and the balance, if any, shall be paid to the owner, if known. In the event no newspaper is published in the county, a copy of the notice of the sale shall be posted in at least three public places in the vicinity where the livestock was taken up. All such sales shall be conducted in the county where the livestock was taken up and impounded.

All fees collected under the provisions of this article shall be paid to the State Treasurer and be credited to the account of a special fund to be expended in furtherance of the purposes of this article.

The Department of Agriculture and Industries, upon receipt of a notice from a person who has seized an estrayed animal as provided in Section 3-2-2, shall investigate such seizure in an effort to locate the owner of the animal. In the event the owner is located and the ownership established, the animal shall be returned to the person found to be the owner thereof upon payment by such person to the seizor the actual cost for keeping the animal, together with the actual amount of damages which he may have suffered as a result of the animal being upon his premises.

(a) If the owner of an estrayed animal seized as provided under Section 3-2-2 is not found after an investigation is conducted by the Department of Agriculture and Industries for the purpose of locating the owner thereof, a notice fully describing the estrayed animal shall be posted by the Department of Agriculture and Industries in at least three conspicuous public places in or near the vicinity where the animal was seized and such a notice shall also be published one time in a newspaper with general circulation in the county where the animal was seized. The posted and published notices of the estrayed animal shall describe such animal by kind, size, sex, markings, brands, color, stature and age.

(b) If the owner of the estrayed animal does not file a claim for possession of the animal with the Department of Agriculture and Industries within 15 days after publication of the notice, the Department of Agriculture and Industries shall dispose of the estrayed animal by sale as provided in subsection (c) of this section. If the owner of the estrayed animal files a claim for return of the animal with the Department of Agriculture and Industries within a 15 day period and satisfactorily establishes his claim of ownership, the Department of Agriculture and Industries shall direct the seizor to return the animal to such owner upon payment to the seizor the actual cost for keeping the animal and the amount he may have suffered as actual damages by reason of the animal being upon his premises. The owner shall also pay to the Department of Agriculture and Industries the actual cost of publication of the estray notice.

(c) In the event no claim is filed with the Department of Agriculture and Industries within a 15 day period after notice and publication, the animal shall be delivered or caused to be delivered by the Department of Agriculture and Industries to the nearest public livestock market where the animal shall be sold. The proceeds received by the livestock market from the sale of the estrayed animal shall be applied to the costs of the sale, publication of the newspaper notice and to satisfy the seizor's lien for keeping the animal and any damages he may have suffered, if any; provided, however, that the total sum paid to the seizor for keep of the animal and damages, if any, shall not exceed 25 percent of the proceeds of the sale after deducting the sales commission, hauling charge and advertising expense. The remainder of the proceeds of the sale of the estrayed animal shall be held by the livestock market in trust for payment to the owner, in the event such owner establishes his right of ownership with the Department of Agriculture and Industries. If the owner fails to establish his right thereto within 90 days from the date of sale, the remainder of the sale price shall be paid by the livestock market to the Department of Agriculture and Industries for deposit in the State Treasury to the credit of the Agricultural Fund. No amounts shall be disbursed under this subsection by the livestock market unless approval in writing is given by the Department of Agriculture and Industries.