Beef prices soar: Can cattle rustlers be far behind?

Afactor of supply and demand has driven cattle prices to historic highs thissummer. That’s both good news and bad news for Oregon ranchers.

They can expectto make abigger profit when they take their animals to market, but they alsopotentially face cattle theft from modern-day rustlers who now have a biggereconomic incentive to commit a crime.

“Ranchersneed to be more vigilant than ever this summer by taking steps to deter theft,”says Rodger Huffman, manager of the Oregon Department of Agriculture’s AnimalIdentificationProgram.

“Cattle prices continue to grow, which makes the concerngrow because of the opportunities for someone to make a pretty large sum ofmoney quickly by committing a crime,” he said.

Marketprices for cattle are now reaching, in some cases, more than twice the averageof just a couple of years ago. The sale of even a few stolen cattle can net athief a healthy profit.

Cases ofcattle theft have already been reported thisyear, including a Malheur County incident in which Butler Ranches is offering a$50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.

It would come as asurprise if this year’s number for missing cattle reported doesn’t exceed lastyear’s 242 mark.

And while only an estimated 20 percent of all missing animalsmay end up determined as stolen, thedollar amount associated with their theftis significant to the producer.

Withcattle out on the range, stealing animals and then taking them to market is notthe only concern this summer. There is another form of theft.

“Weanticipate there potentially will be more cattle unaccounted for when ranchersgather their animals this fall, partly due to theft but also due to butcheringtaking place on the range lands,”says Huffman. “Sometimes when we see a spikein food costs, we see more people going out and shooting livestock, butcheringthe animals on the spot for their own consumption.”

Two-leggedpredators of livestock are joined by a relatively new four-legged predator inmany parts of Eastern Oregon. When cattle are reported missing, wolves areadded to the equation assomething to consider. Some of the same steps toprevent losses due to theft can be taken to protect livestock from wolves.

“Havingsomeone physically check up on livestock frequently is an effective tool anddeterrent for all predators, including humans,” says Huffman. “The expense ofhaving that physicalpresence is easily offset by the value of those animals,especially with today ‘s prices for cattle.”

Markinglivestock with some kind of recognizable identification is another good idea.For mature animals, brands provide a cattle’s return address. In a court oflaw, the brand is used as proofofownership.

Brands are not mandatory in Oregon, but state law does require that all cattle,both branded and unbranded, be inspected before leaving the state, before beingsold at an auction, beforebeing taken to a slaughterhouse, and when change ofownership occurs.

Huffmanagrees that would-be thieves are more likely to grab and nab when they thinknobody is watching. But while the sophistication of physically taking livestockhasn’t increased muchin recent years, there has been an steep rise in findingan accessible market for stolen animals.

“With modern vehicles, the transport iscertainly easier and faster than it was in the old days, but more importantly,the ability to market those animals through the Internet makes us quitenervous,” says Huffman.

Technologyis now able to bring buyer and seller together very quickly. With thetemptation of going online, thieves have a readily available market. They cansteal animals overnight, look ona site like craigslist for those wanting topurchase cattle, and deliver the animals in a matter of hours.

“Wewould have to monitor the Internet 24 hours a day, seven days a week – and eventhen, we might not catch someone selling stolen cattle,” says Huffman.

Buyersare most likely an unsuspecting party to the theft, but they can play a hugerole in tracking down the crime. Local law enforcement and ODA stress the needfor proof of ownershipduring transactions.

“Peoplebuying animals through these new media need to have documented proof ofownership from the sellers so that the animals can be traced if we suspect theywere stolen,” saysHuffman.

“At the very least, buyers should get a bill ofsale that includes a name, address, and phone number. If an ODA brand inspectorasks for proof of ownership, you will at least havesomething we can go backand validate.”

Ifthere isn’t proof of ownership, prospective buyers should reject thetransaction and contact local law enforcement or the local ODA brand inspector.

Ruralcrime may not get reported by big city media, but its impact – particularly onfarmers and ranchers – is hard to ignore.

Theft of crops, farm equipment, andcattle this summer areattributed to the price those stolen items command inthe marketplace. However, it might be even more challenging to steal somethingin the wide open spaces compared to urban centers.

“Inrural areas, most people know who is supposed to be there and what they aresupposed to be doing,” says Huffman. “If somebody sees something, they’ll knowif it is normal activity ornot, unlike what might be happening in the city.Even if there are fewer eyes to spot crime, they are probably better trainedeyes.”

Meanwhile,the investigation and prosecution of cattle theft is an ongoing challenge, aslocal sheriffs and district attorneys deal with more and more crimes againstpeople, rather than property.

Still, suspicious activity involving livestockshould be reported to law enforcement or ODA. The agriculture community canhelp.

Hopefully, an ounce of prevention by ranchers and prospectivebuyers tothwart cattle thieves will be worth a pound of cure– or perhaps several hundredpounds of cure, depending on the size of the animal.

Formore information, contact Rodger Huffman at (541) 663-0199 .