81-6-101. Petition for county livestock protective committee -- members -- term. (1) The board of county commissioners shall, upon receipt of a petition or petitions to do so, set up a county livestock protective committee of three members. The petition or petitions must be signed by at least 51% of the owners of cattle in the county, and at least 55% of the cattle in the county must be owned by the petitioners.

(2) Members appointed to serve on the committee must be residents of the county engaged in the business of raising cattle. If there is in the county any organization of cattle growers, the county commissioners shall give preference to names submitted by the group for appointment to the committee. The term for which the committee members are appointed is 2 years, with two members of the first committee named to serve for 2 years and one member to serve for 1 year. Members of the committee may not receive remuneration or reimbursement for expenses for serving on the committee.

(3) As used in this section, "organization of cattle growers" means any group or organization holding regular meetings at least annually, having officers, and composed predominantly of cattle growers resident in the county, with its membership open to cattle growers willing to abide by its governing rules or bylaws. The general purpose of the organization must be the promotion of the interests of its members in matters pertaining to the cattle or livestock industry.

(4) If the owners of sheep in the county desire to come under the provisions of this part in cooperation with owners of cattle, they shall file a petition meeting the requirements of subsection (1) with the county commissioners, and in that case, at least one member of the livestock protective committee must be a sheep grower and where the word "cattle" appears in this part, it includes the word "sheep".

(5) Owners of sheep may form a county livestock protective committee, in which case the word "cattle" as used in this part is considered to mean "sheep".