Legal Definitions - parco fracto

Parco fracto is a historical legal term that refers to the act of breaking into a pound or enclosure where animals have been legally impounded (taken into custody) and then releasing those animals. Historically, this was considered a specific offense for which a legal action, known as a writ of de parco fracto, could be brought. Essentially, it describes the unlawful interference with animals that are lawfully held in an enclosure.

• Example 1: Farmer Retrieving His Own Impounded Livestock

  Imagine a scenario where Farmer McGregor's cattle repeatedly stray onto his neighbor's fields, causing significant damage to crops. Following local regulations, the neighbor lawfully impounds the cattle in a secure pen on his property, intending to hold them until Farmer McGregor pays for the damages. Frustrated and unwilling to pay, Farmer McGregor secretly breaks the lock on the pen one night and leads his cattle back to his own pasture.

  This action by Farmer McGregor, breaking into the lawful enclosure and removing the impounded cattle, would be an instance of parco fracto. He unlawfully interfered with animals that were legally held.

• Example 2: A Sympathetic Bystander Releasing Stray Animals

  Consider a town where stray dogs are a common issue. The local animal control department captures several stray dogs and places them in a secure municipal holding facility, awaiting their owners or adoption. A well-meaning but misguided individual, believing the dogs are being unfairly confined, cuts a hole in the fence of the facility, allowing the dogs to escape into the neighborhood.

  The act of damaging the municipal facility and releasing the legally impounded dogs constitutes parco fracto. The individual unlawfully broke into an enclosure holding animals that were lawfully taken into custody and released them.

• Example 3: Interference with Game Animals in a Preserve

  In a historical context, a landowner might have a private game preserve where deer are kept for hunting. If some of these deer were to escape and be recaptured by a gamekeeper, they would be placed back into a secure, designated enclosure within the preserve. If a group of poachers were to then forcibly break down the gates of this enclosure and release the deer, intending to hunt them later or simply to disrupt the landowner's property.

  The poachers' action of breaking into the enclosure and releasing the lawfully held deer would be an example of parco fracto, as it represents the unlawful interference with impounded animals.