RED DEER – Warren Brower figures he has lost more than 100 cattle to thieves in the last five years.
The rancher from Aden, Alta., who raises 500 cows near the Montana-Alberta border, is so frustrated he has asked the Western Stock Growers Association to investigate a plan to provide an insurance policy to cover a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of livestock thieves.
Brower said his cows are branded and he regularly checks them, but on a large ranch he cannot check them all every day.
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He suspects the cows could have ended up in Manitoba, where brands are not inspected. Many were pregnant and could be dropping calves on the ground for someone else’s benefit. Stolen calves were probably butchered.
“They could be going in every direction,” he said. “If I knew where they went, I could do something about it.”
Brower lives in a remote area and suspects rustlers might enter his property on public roads as well as oil companies’ rights of way.
He has been working with local law enforcement and other authorities but believes a substantial reward may encourage people to tell what they know. He is also willing to back a reward himself to get some action.
“$50,000 should be enough to get somebody talking,” he said.
“It is a major problem for me and the only way to stop is to put up a reward.”
Alberta has two special RCMP constables who work on these issues. Brand inspectors can also work on them.
Dave Moss of the Livestock Identification Services said the agency is aware of Brower’s problem but could not speak specifically about his case.
A new Livestock Identification and Commerce Act came into effect Jan. 1 that should help, he added.
Moss said livestock can go missing for many reasons, and the new act says inspectors must be satisfied about correct ownership. They are trained to be vigilant and will know if cattle are sold fraudulently in the case of a possible theft, partnership break up or divorce.
“There is a quite a bit of surveillance in place.”
Moss said producers need good records on cattle numbers and movement. More than half the calves coming through auctions are not branded.
The province’s 94 brand inspectors checked six million head last year and were able to redirect several million dollars in sales proceeds to the rightful owners of cattle when there were discrepancies with brands and other identification.
Inspectors can trace livestock on their own or work with the Canadian Cattle Identification Agency to follow ear tags back to the herd of origin and determine proper ownership.
Alberta also has interprovincial brand inspection agreements with British Columbia and Saskatchewan as well as with the International Livestock Identification Association, which includes 15 American states that use brands.
