Livestock Management RANCHING
investigations on local, state and federal cases of theft or fraud; by state and national animal health agencies for disease trace back; by agricultural lending institu- tions to secure livestock loans; by county sheriff offi ces to determine ownership of estray livestock. Judges and attorneys also reference brands in many types of civil litigations involving livestock. Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association’s
(TSCRA) special rangers serve as licensed peace of- fi cers commissioned through the Texas Department of Public Safety or the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, investigating approximately 1,000 ag- ricultural crime cases each year. They also recover an average of $5 million in stolen cattle and assets for ranchers annually. TSCRA’s market inspectors aid the special rangers
by collecting brands and other identifying marks on 4 to 5 million cattle sold at the more than 100 Texas livestock markets each year. Market inspectors report their fi ndings to TSCRA’s Fort Worth headquarters, where the information is entered into the nation’s larg- est brand recording and retrieval system. This digital database is the fi rst source checked when a special ranger receives a theft call.
Larry Gray, TSCRA’s executive director of enforce-
ment and theft prevention services, says the odds of recovering lost or stolen cattle are greatly improved if those cattle are branded. “If a cow with a brand is sold at a livestock market, we’ll have a record of it. Being able to use something as reliable as a brand to track an animal through the system is a valuable as- set to everyone, from the owner through the markets and on to law enforcement. It cuts down on inves- tigation time and resources. Without a brand to go on, it can sometimes be like trying to fi nd a needle in a haystack.” And branding isn’t just for cattle. Texas Agriculture
Code covers the branding of cattle, hogs, horses, sheep and goats. It also includes brands made by fi re and freeze branding, a method of marking the hide of an animal using a branding iron chilled with a coolant such as liquid nitrogen. This type of brand will result in the hair of the animal growing in white where the brand was applied. The best way to ensure your cattle stay yours is to
put your mark on them. Brand your livestock and make sure that brand is recorded with your county clerk or your state’s brand authority.
66 The Cattleman January 2015
thecattlemanmagazine.com
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