You have a legal duty to maintain boundary fences in good order so as to avoid problems for the public or your neighbours. Common law imposes a liability, for example, to make sure your animals do not stray onto a public road and cause an accident. If it is shown that your boundary fences were in such a state that animals could stray and they caused an accident or created damage to land or property belonging to a neighbour you may be sued for negligence. In Victoria, the Wrongs (Animals Straying on Highways) Act 1984 also makes it an offence to allow animals to stray onto highways: see also Chapter 4 ‘Livestock, Pets and Wildlife’ 'Impounding livestock' and 'Livestock on roads'