Brand inspection rules a boon for rustlers

Rustling cattle may seem like an activity straight out of the Old West, but it still exists and advances in transportation have made it easier for thieves to get out of the brand inspection area to sell the animals. Counties in the eastern one-third of the state do not require brand inspection. Cattle in that part of Nebraska often are left unbranded, and individuals who may steal cattle in west or central Nebraska need only to spend a few hours on the road to sell them in a non-brand inspection area. Brands have been recorded in Nebraska since the 1800s, but the Nebraska Brand Committee wasn’t formed until 1941. At that time, Harvey said, it was a county by county decision on whether brand inspection would be required. Since 90 percent of the cattle in Nebraska were in the western two-thirds of the state, those counties elected to take part while the eastern ones did not. Knox County falls into both categories, as brand inspection is required in the western three-quarters of the county but not in the eastern quarter. Furnas County in south central Nebraska is surrounded by brand inspection counties but elected not to become part of the inspection area. Harvey said the idea of making the brand inspection area statewide has come up on numerous occasions, but there are mixed feelings about it. There are more cattle in the eastern part of the state today, but owners there have never had to worry about branding and brand inspection and don’t necessarily want to start. Cattle owners who already live in brand inspection areas, on the other hand, often think it only makes sense to extend the law statewide...read more