“Stray voltage” is a term used to describe electricity that escapes from the power grid, or more broadly as voltage occurring where it shouldn’t.
New York City and Toronto have both witnessed stray voltage deaths over the past few years. Several commonly-seen metropolitan fixtures such as manhole covers, street lamps, and utility boxes can become serious dangers. Even a small amount of stray voltage can become a serious problem in a congested urban environment in which extensive electrical distribution equipment, much of underground or otherwise hidden from view, surrounds a congested population.
Serious studies generally show little effect from stray voltage on farm animals, and experts have largely concluded that the danger is either non-existent or minimal enough to be dismissed. However, farmers persist in contending that their livestock is adversely affected by the release of current into the environment — asserting, significantly, that utility companies have the resources to influence regulatory agencies, author ‘independent’ research studies, and fund protracted litigation and appeals — resources which few if any farmers possess.