Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Rise in Cattle Rustling Perplexes Texas Law Enforcement

The Giddings Livestock Commission holds its auction every Monday. Hundreds of cows pass through, brought in by their rightful owners to be sold to the highest bidder. But, every now and then, auction manager Larry Larry Schatte says, a contraband cow finds its way into the mix. “Probably about a year ago. This one guy, he’d usually bring in some cattle for his mom,” Schatte told StateImpact Texas on a recent auction day that the man would always bring in the same kind of cow, a specific type of cross breed. “And this one particular time he came in with a couple of long horns, and I thought it was kind of an odd deal,” he said. Turns out, it was. The cattle had been stolen from a ranch where the man worked. Stories like this are becoming more and more common. Ranchers saw a sharp jump in cattle rustling last year in Texas and Oklahoma. Over 10,000 cows and horses were reported missing or stolen. That’s an almost 40 percent increase from the year before. It’s a trend that’s surprised some in law enforcement. Doug Hutchison is a special ranger commissioned by the Texas Department of Public Safety to investigate cattle theft. He points out that -since the drought ravaged herds in 2011- there’s simply less and less Texas cattle to steal. “I was really starting to think that maybe we’d start to see a downturn, because these ranchers are watching so close to what they have with the downsizing of the herd, it’s a little easier to track,” said Hutchison...more

What is the primary cause of thefts?

Special Ranger Hutchison says those thieves are often desperate to feed drug addictions. “Not always, but I would say the majority of these cases are driven by the meth community. Cause they know it’s some quick cash,” he told StateImpact Texas.

War On Drugs = Cattle Theft

No comments: