“The past is never past. It’s not even dead yet.” So said William Faulkner, and it appears that more than a few thieves have taken his words to heart. Cattle rustling isn’t just a crime of the past, relegated to the days of Wild Bill Hickock and Calamity Jane — it’s an ongoing problem in cattle raising states like Montana, Texas and Oklahoma. With cows fetching $1000 a head, rustling can be a lucrative “business”, since thieves can get full market price for however much effort it takes to lure away a cow.
Unfortunately, there’s little that ranchers can do to protect themselves other than double check their locks and have the Sheriff’s office on speed-dial. Branding is an unreliable way to find thieves, but it does sometimes help, as do field inspectors who are tasked with recovering the cattle. On the plus side, once rustlers are caught, they face pretty steep punishments. In Texas, stealing less than 10 head of cattle is a state jail felony, which could result in a couple of years in prison; stealing more than ten cows is a third degree felony, punishable by up to 10 years behind bars.
Currently there are sites like cattlewatch.com where people can report theft, but perhaps we should look back to old west novels for law enforcement tips on keeping rustlers in check… Any thoughts?
Related articles
- Beware on the range: Cattle rustling in Texas is up (reuters.com)
- As cattle rustling increases, so does the need for RFID (readwriteweb.com)
- Cattle rustling plagues ranchers (nytimes.com)
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