Bava Kamma 21B

בעלמא ⁠– בור ברשותו פטור; ושאני הכא, דאמר: לאו כל כמינך דמקרבת להו לפירותך לרשות הרבים, ומחייבת להו לתוראי.

that usually, if one digs a pit within his own property and he then declares his property to be ownerless, he is exempt, as he dug the pit when the property was his. But here it is different, because here the owner of the animal can say to the owner of the produce: It is not all in your power to bring your produce close to the public domain and to also hold my ox liable for eating it.

ושמואל אמר: בעלמא ⁠– בור ברשותו חייב; דבשלמא בור, איכא למימר לאו אדעתיה; אלא פירות, מי איכא למימר לאו אדעתיה?! הא חזי להו!

And Shmuel can say: Usually, if one digs a pit or creates an obstacle that can cause damage within his own property and he then declares his property to be ownerless, he is liable for any damage that is caused by the pit. As with regard to the pit, granted, it is possible to say that he was not aware, meaning the injured party was not thinking about the possibility that there may be a pit there that could cause him harm, and therefore the one who dug the pit is liable. But with regard to produce that is spread out over the ground, can it be said that the animal was not aware of it? It cannot be, because the animal sees the produce.

לימא מחזרת תנאי היא ⁠– דתניא: אכלה מתוך הרחבה ⁠– משלמת מה שנהנית, מצידי הרחבה ⁠– משלמת מה שהזיקה; דברי רבי מאיר ורבי יהודה. רבי יוסי ורבי אלעזר אומרים: אין דרכה לאכול, אלא להלך.

The Talmud suggests: Let us say that actually, the amoraic dispute about an animal that turns its head and eats produce at the side of the road is the subject of a dispute between tanna’im. As it is taught in a baraita: If an animal ate produce from the public square, the owner of the animal pays for the benefit that the animal derived; but if it ate from the sides of the public square, he pays for that which it damaged. This is the statement of R' Meir and R' Yehuda. But R' Yosei and R' Elazar say: It is not typical for an animal to eat in the public domain but only to walk there. Consequently, the owner is liable.