Range war

A range war, also known as range conflict or cattle war, is a type of usually violent conflict, most commonly in the 19th and early 20th centuries in the American West.

The subject of these conflicts was control of "open range", or range land freely used for cattle grazing, or as sheep pasture, which gave these conflicts its name.

While in previous centuries violence may have been involved,[2] the term is now applied to nonviolent competition for scarce resources, such as between ranchers and environmentalists,[3] or between ranchers and fans of wild horses.

In this sense, the term is found in politics[5] and business.

[6] Range wars have been the subject of movies and novels.