Source: ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
01/29/2006
Article written by: Phillip O'Connor

CATTLE RUSTLERS TARGET OZARKS REGION




BARRY COUNTY, MO.

They crowded more than 100 strong into a small country store in the heart of Missouri's beef country, many angry and a few grumbling about meteing out some frontier justice.

They were farmers and ranchers tired of losing a modern-day fight against an old-time crime - cattle rustling.

Cattle theft is on the rise in America, fueled, in part, by soaring beef prices. In Missouri, thieves have targeted a large swath of the Ozarks region.

At the meeting last week at the Madry Store about 40 miles southwest of Springfield, men dressed in muddy boots, cowboy hats, camouflage baseball caps and shirts of denim and plaid expressed frustration about what they said was a growing problem.

The crowd filled every table, spilled up the grocery aisles and had some in the rear standing on chairs.

To many in the room, it seems cattle thieves operate with impunity. Some told how they now routinely keep weapons handy at home and in their vehicles should the need arise.

"We've gotten to wonder whether we can shoot somebody," shouted out a burly man with a beard and glasses. "Shoot now, ask questions later."

County prosecutor Johnnie Cox warned those in the attendance not to do something that might land them in jail. Sheriff Mick Epperly also warned the crowd about going too far.

"I hope it's not a vigilante group," he said.

Cattle theft is nearly as old as cows.

"If you're in the business, you're always going to have to deal with it," said Brent Bryant of the Missouri Cattlemen's Association, who said organizations such as his were formed more than a century ago, in part to combat cattle rustling.

Still, he said, growing concerns prompted the association at its annual meeting in December to call for working with the governor and state agencies on a task force to address livestock theft and rural crime.

81 thefts in 15 months

No centralized system exists to track cattle thefts across the state. But in the last 15 months, at least 81 thefts involving an estimated $597,000 worth of cattle have been reported across 29 southern counties, said Sgt. Dan Nash, a Missouri Highway Patrol detective.

Those figures don't include many thefts involving less than a half-dozen cattle, said Nash, who has been investigating the crimes for more than a year.

An official with the Illinois Beef Association said his group was unaware of any similar increase in cattle thefts in that state.

Rising prices, up about 50 percent in the last five years in part because of the popularity of high-protein diets, have made cattle a tempting target, said Gregg Doud, chief economist for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association in Washington. A single cow might sell for $1,000 to $1,500, he said.

"The last two to three years, this has become a much more prevalent problem across the country," Doud said.

Thieves operate in a number of ways. In some cases, a small-time crook might nab a single cow grazing near a road and load it into the back of a pickup. In other cases, highly organized gangs launch high-tech, night-time operations that involve large trailers and many cattle.

Al Halmagyi, 87, lives just up Highway 39 from the Madry Store. In June, thieves crossed two adjoining properties in the middle of the night and cut through four fences and a gate chain to get access to 18 steers he owned.

He is convinced the thieves used an airplane to scout his property in advance. A neighbor told him he'd seen a plane buzzing his farm in the days before the theft.

"They couldn't have seen the way in from the road," he said.

Halmagyi estimated his loss at about $16,000, none of which was covered by insurance.

Most of the crimes take place in sparsely populated rural counties, where road patrols are few and far between.

Sheriff Epperly acknowledged that his 20 deputies had a difficult job patrolling Barry County's 779 square miles. He said he recently ordered his deputies to pull over cattle trailers they found on the roads at night, to check their loads.

Cattle easy to hide

Stolen cows often are difficult to trace.

Typically, law enforcement officials have little more than a general description of the cattle, such as their color and weight. That makes it almost impossible to find the cattle once they have been sold to a livestock auction.

"It's literally looking for a needle in a haystack when you're looking for 10 cattle out of 10,000," Nash said.

Stolen cattle also are easy to dispose of. Barry County is surrounded by livestock markets and barns where sales often are consummated with nothing more than a handshake.

"Some people take advantage of that honesty and integrity," Nash said.

He said police now are asking livestock auctions to voluntarily obtain identification from sellers to help track the chain of custody.

Branding would make it much easier to identify cattle, but many farmers and ranchers are reluctant to do so because of the cost and the concern that it would lead to additional government regulations, Bryant said.

DNA tests can also prove ownership, but they are expensive, and cows are often disposed of before such tests can be conducted.

"Every solution also has drawbacks," Bryant said. "Our goal is to work to find the most economic solution that prevents cattle theft and puts those who break the law behind bars."

Dale Horner also wants the law to come down hard on the thieves. He owns the Madry Store and convened last week's meeting.

Horner grew up in this county, a place where country music and religious programs dominate the airwaves, where a local radio station broadcasts obituaries and where cattle outnumber the 35,000 residents nearly three to one. On a recent day, Angus, Charolais, Hereford and other breeds grazed on clumps of grass in winter pastures that glinted gold, copper, rust and red under the midafternoon sun.

Horner remembers a time when no one here locked a door or thought about crime. Today, things have gotten so bad that for almost two months, Horner has slept in a camper parked in front of his store to ward off burglars. But he has no desire to be a vigilante.

Instead, he hoped to convince those at the meeting to form a group that would help law enforcement officials track down the culprits. He envisioned a neighborhood watch program, which would report suspicious behavior and serve as a clearinghouse to make sure important information gets to police.

"Hopefully, this will be a deterrent," he said. "We realize that it's time to do our part."


By the numbers

Missouri is the second leading state (behind Texas) in the number of beef cows: 2.16 million.

Missouri ranks sixth among all states in total number of cattle: 4.45 million.

Missouri has about 68,000 farms with beef or dairy cattle.

Annual sales of beef cattle and calves in Missouri total nearly $1 billion.

Missouri has approximately 12 million acres of pasture land.