Legal Definitions - damage feasant

Damage feasant is a legal term that means doing damage. It usually refers to when someone's animals trespass on another person's land and cause damage, such as eating crops or trampling grass. In the past, the owner of the damaged property could impound the animals until compensated by the animals' owner. However, the impounder had to feed the animals and could not sell or harm them. This term was introduced during the reign of Edward III.

• John's cows wandered onto Sarah's property and ate all of her corn. This is an example of damage feasant because John's cows caused damage to Sarah's land.
• When Mary's goats got loose and trampled on her neighbor's lawn, it was considered damage feasant because the goats caused damage to the neighbor's property.

These examples illustrate how damage feasant is used to describe situations where someone's animals cause damage to another person's property.