CALDWELL– A certain type of criminal is targeting the West and the animals that graze here. Reports of cattle theft are on the rise.
Cattle rustling is a crime you would read about in a story about the 19th century wild west. But for Idaho ranchers cattle theft isn’t a tall tale, it is a harsh reality. They loose a couple thousand dollars for each cow stolen.
Ron Davison, one of the owners of Treasure Valley Livestock Auction, says the price of cattle is rising. Today farmers and ranchers can get anywhere between 50 to 70 cents per pound for a commercial cow.
It fluctuates always, but it just gradually worked up in the last five years or more, said Davison.
The price for a registered cow can exceed $2,000 a head.
Lynn Gibson a state brand inspector says cattle theft has been increasing for the past three years.
Gibson says it is a hard crime to track because ranchers turn their cows out for months at a time. Often ranchers don’t know cattle are missing until they finish their round ups. Even then, Gibson says it is hard to know if the cattle where actually stolen and rebranded or if they wandered off or died while grazing.
Like a spare tire or a toolbox on the back of your pickup when you get out in the morning you know it is gone, said Gibson. Somebody had to have taken that spare tire or toolbox off your pickup, but cattle aren’t that way.
Eventually, Gibson says ranchers can usually figure out what happened to their cattle. Cows will either turn back up or they will find evidence they died. If there is no sign of them, there is a good chance the cow was stolen.
Livestock officials say the increase in crimes is linked to the down economy. GPS systems also make it easier to navigate the land where cows graze and steal them.