Cattle rustling... Are you kidding me?

Truckinguy · #21 04/01/13, 12:00 PM

If you don't let them walk too close together and keep them out of the wind it will keep the rustling to a minimum....

MTplainsman · #22 04/01/13, 11:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Miss Kay

My experience is with Missouri. Very few brand there but may start doing it. Most of the theft there was not one or two cows for the freezer, it was a trailer load at a time.

I was not aware that so many herds around the country never wear a brand??? I am apparently ignorant to all this, but I actually assumed that the majority of all the states in the union marked their cattle. Why would you not?

salmonslayer · #23 04/02/13, 10:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MTplainsman

I was not aware that so many herds around the country never wear a brand??? I am apparently ignorant to all this, but I actually assumed that the majority of all the states in the union marked their cattle. Why would you not?

They really havent branded here since they got away from open ranges but there is talk in the cattleman's association of going back to branding even if your not selling out of state. We just have a small herd and we dont brand either and I dont think we will. In our neck of the woods a large ranch or farm is about a section and most are from 15 - 300 acres...lots of small barely scraping by family subsistence farms and increasingly they are owned by older people trying to hold on to the last. Not a crowd that is interested in changing their ways in most cases.

Celtichorse · #24 04/02/13, 10:24 AM

Around here, one of the brand inspectors was in on the deal..... cattle, horses...... The guy spend some time in prison, but the person who did most of the stealing never served any time at all... got off because he was "cooperating" and he's back working cows,"training horses" and managing ranches for unsuspecting people - he's just using a new name..... he goes to work for people that are new to ranching - mostly city folk that have no clue and think "playing cowboy" on the weekends is fun. And of course they don't listen to the warnings about this guy when the locals bring it up. He dissapeared for a while and since he's been back, the amount of livestock that comes up missing has gone up too...... A coinsidence??? Hmmmm .... don't think so.

solidwoods · #25 04/02/13, 10:30 AM

Why not use the ID device used on pets, injected under the skin. Cow has a scar at the site (someone removed/replaced it with surgery) questions get asked.
Of course the core of the problem is WE CHANGED THE LAW.
jim

glenn amolenaar · #26 04/02/13, 04:04 PM

It pays to check every few hours here neighbors stick together, but the bad guys must be neighbors as this weekend one neighbors gates were opened and barn was opened, my gates were double chained one was unhooked the other was bound up and gates were pushed inward. Just north on our road they stole several cow/calf pairs, this was early Sunday AM.

65284 · #27 04/02/13, 05:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by solidwoods

Of course the core of the problem is WE CHANGED THE LAW.
jim

Exactly right! We stopped hanging rustlers in public. May not be a deterrent but darn sure cuts down or recidivism.

Miss Kay · #28 04/02/13, 06:14 PM

http://www.mobeef.org/statistics.aspx

According to this site, Missouri is number two in the nation for beef cows but even at that, the average herd is only 36. That means the ranches are much smaller than the ones you are used to out west. There is no “range” here so in theory at least, your cows never co-mingle with anyone else’s. Typically the ranchers raise calves up to be sold at the local sale barn to be shipped off to feed lots in other states. The only ID they use is ear tags and that is for internal records (births, age, health, etc). Even at that, the tags are usually generic numbers with no farm name. You simply unload at the sale barn and do the paperwork to get your check and the vet gives them a once over and says all is well. I suppose that is why the cattle rustling started becoming a problem in MO. Anyone familiar with the system knew all you need is to show up at the sale with a load of cattle. There were even times that farmers suspected who got their cattle but they couldn’t prove where they were sold so unless you have a sale ticket in the thief’s name and some way to ID you cows, you hit a dead end. There has been some interest in branding again but that is added work, stress on the cattle, and expense and really doesn’t change anything unless the local sale barns are going to actually look at them and verify the owner. So for now, they are simply trying to set up camera systems and neighbor watch to keep each other’s cattle safe.

ErinP · #29 04/02/13, 06:40 PM

Branding is a much easier process by my way of thinking.