Short answer. It depends on the type. Article 657 caps an animal path at 75 meters and an animal trail at 37 meters and 50 centimeters, subject to local ordinances, regulations, or customs. If the easement is instead a compulsory one established under the law, its width cannot exceed 10 meters.
What the law says
the animal path shall not exceed in any case the width of 75 meters, and the animal trail that of 37 meters and 50 centimeters
Civil Code, Article 657 — Animal Paths and Watering Places. Read the full provision →
What the law says
Whenever it is necessary to establish a compulsory easement of the right of way or for a watering place for animals, the provisions of this Section and those of articles 640 and 641 shall be observed. In this case the width shall not exceed 10 meters.
Civil Code, Article 657 — Animal Paths and Watering Places. Read the full provision →
Local rules and customs govern first
Article 657 does not start with a fixed number. It first defers to local governance: easements of the right of way for livestock, known as animal path or animal trail, along with those for watering places, resting places, and animal folds, are governed by the ordinances and regulations relating to them, and, where none exist, by the usages and customs of the place. Only after deferring to those local rules does the article set the outer limits that no animal path or trail may exceed, regardless of what local custom might otherwise allow.
The maximum widths for each type
Within that framework, the article sets firm caps: the animal path shall not exceed in any case the width of 75 meters, and the animal trail that of 37 meters and 50 centimeters. An animal path, used for driving livestock over longer distances, is allowed the wider corridor of the two, while an animal trail is limited to roughly half that width. These are maximum limits, not guaranteed widths; the actual width used in a given locality still depends on the applicable ordinance, regulation, or established custom, up to that ceiling.
A different, narrower rule for compulsory easements
The article separately addresses situations where an easement has to be created by law rather than already existing by custom: Whenever it is necessary to establish a compulsory easement of the right of way or for a watering place for animals, the provisions of this Section and those of articles 640 and 641 shall be observed. In this case the width shall not exceed 10 meters. A newly imposed, compulsory animal-path easement is capped at 10 meters, considerably narrower than the 75-meter or 37.5-meter limits that apply to paths and trails already recognized by local ordinance or custom.
Why this distinction matters for a landowner
If livestock have long crossed your land under a locally recognized animal path or trail, its width is measured against the wider limits and against whatever local ordinance, regulation, or custom applies, up to the article's ceiling. If instead someone is trying to newly establish a compulsory easement across your property for animals, rather than relying on an existing customary one, the width they can compel is capped at the much narrower 10 meters, and the related requirements under Article 640 and Article 641 come into play as well.
Related provisions
- Civil Code, Article 657 — Animal Paths and Watering Places
- Civil Code, Article 640 — Drawing Water and Watering Animals
- Civil Code, Article 641 — Passage Accompanies These Easements