How to of the Day: How to Protect Cattle from Rustlers

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How to Protect Cattle from Rustlers Aug 18th 2012, 00:00 Cattle rustling (raiding, stealing) is still a big crime no matter where you are and it still happens with alarming frequency.[1][2] It's important to try to keep your cattle safe from potential rustlers, particularly if you are located in an area where cattle rustling is known to occur or when events such as drought or a natural disaster give rise to opportunistic crime. There are several ways to protect your cattle from being stolen, as outlined in the steps below. Edit Steps Maintain good records of the cattle your own. Maintain good records of the cattle your own. Keep these records in a safe location; the best place to keep health, reproductive, purchase/sale and identification records of your cattle is in your own house or even in a safe. Keep them in a file where only you know where they are, and be sure to keep both hard copies (paper files) and software copies (records on your computer) in case one set is lost. Keeping records of your cattle is a good thing to do, even if you're not at risk of having cattle stolen off you. But, in case you have to go to court against these rustlers, these records will serve as proof that those animals are rightfully yours and not mere strays. Make sure all of your cattle have their tags and/or have been branded with the brand of your farm or ranch. Make sure all of your cattle have their tags and/or have been branded with the brand of your farm or ranch. Cattle without tags tend to be bigger targets for theft than those who have tags or buttons. Cattle that are not branded are also fair game; however, even branded cattle are still liable to be stolen, especially if the rustler has mastered the skill of switching brands just like rustlers were able to do back in the days of the Old West. By comparison though, in today's world, time is money and a rustler would rather not fool around trying to switch brands. Instead he'd rather get in, get the cattle, get out and sell them as soon as possible. Therefore, brands on the cattle are a form of deterrent. Do a regular physical count of your animals. Do a regular physical count of your animals. As many times as you need to come out to check them, make sure you do a headcount to ensure that they are all there. This not only ensures that none been stolen, it also makes sure that none of your animals have found or made a hole in the fence and decided to make an escape or there is a sick or lame animal still out in the grazing grounds. A headcount is also a good way to tell if you have an extra visitor or two in your herd that came from another farm. By returning such animals to neighbors, you build up a trustworthy rapport that will be returned in kind if needed. Ensure the proper location of your handling facilities or loading areas meet farm bio-security measures. Ensure the proper location of your handling facilities or loading areas meet farm bio-security measures. Your facilities should either be located close to your residence to make it difficult to steal without disturbing you, or far enough into your land that it takes, in the thieves' minds, too much time to travel to and fro. Permanent facilities that are located far away from the road or are quite literally hidden from view of the road tend to discourage most thieves than facilities evident near the road. This is simply because thieves need to be quick about their business, and having to drive a long way into your land can put a bit of a nervous edge on them. Facilities which are hidden might actually be inviting to the thieves, since they can load the cattle without being seen from the road. But it's a different story if there's only one lane going to and from your handling and loading areas. Handling facilities and load areas must have only a one-way access to and from such facilities or areas. Handling facilities and load areas must have only a one-way access to and from such facilities or areas. If your facilities have more than one way out and in, you will find out fairly quickly that it will be all too easy for rustlers to go in and get out without being noticed by you or your neighbors. It is ideal to have the exit and entry point of that one-way-access to run by your residence that is located on the farm. This is because you can easily and quickly know if someone is coming up your drive way at a time of night when normally no-one would even consider doing such a thing. If you haven't done so already, install a heavy iron livestock gate at the entrance/exit where you or trucks must enter from the road to get to the handling facilities. If you haven't done so already, install a heavy iron livestock gate at the entrance/exit where you or trucks must enter from the road to get to the handling facilities. This gate must be kept shut and locked at all times, except when you are around to keep an eye out for trouble and when it's needed ship cattle out or in. Locked gates, especially those with a heavy bolt lock and not just a chain or latch, act as a deterrent to rustlers. They are also a great signal to alert you if a cattle thief did indeed attempt to steal your animals and was desperate enough to break and enter. Make sure all access points to where your cattle, no matter if they're in the corrals at the home base or out on pasture, are secure. This means making sure the gates, both wire and swinging, are done up properly and securely. You may also want to consider checking them regularly. Keep your possessions in a secure area. Keep your possessions in a secure area. You should make sure most of your your vehicles, trailers, machinery and equipment are locked up in a secure building. Keep the keys with you in your house, and keep a set with someone you trust to keep them safe for you, especially if you have to be away from the farm for several days. This is important to know because sometimes the thieves may be interested in more than just your cattle. Keep an eye out for any suspicious activity. Keep an eye out for any suspicious activity. This may be a lot harder to do if you live away from your farm; however, if you have neighbors that know you and are willing to watch over your farm for you, use this as an advantage to help keep an eye out for potential illegal activity. If you do live on your farm or ranch, it is still wise to talk to your neighbors. Let them know or ask them about potentially suspicious activity, such as if they have noticed any strange vehicles slowing down or stopping to look at your animals or farm while you are away, or if they've noticed any strange activity during the night. Many people who live out in the rural areas know the regular traffic that goes by there homes every day. Suspicions are always aroused if someone is driving more slowly than they should, if they stop by the side of the road for some reason, or suddenly slow down then after a few seconds, then take off again. Signs of suspicious activity should also be accounted for. If you can and know how, look for tire tracks or footprints that show that someone has been a little too interested in your animals. But make sure you don't confuse these suspicious tracks with your own or those of other family members/ranch workers! You should know what tracks you make according to the treads on your vehicle tires and the shoes or boots on your feet, and verify those tire treads and foot prints do, in fact, belong to you! Let neighbors, family and friends you know you can trust to watch your farm for you if you have to be absent for longer than a day or two. This will keep your peace of mind and acknowledge the fact that you won't have anything to worry about except if your cows decide to make trouble for you while you're away. Join a local/rural initiative or team targeting anti-theft of cattle if there is one in your area. This can give you the benefits of group protection activities, as well as being a source of useful information about keeping your cattle safe. If such a group doesn't exist in your area, consider starting one with the support of other cattle owners.[3] Keep the police or sheriff informed if you see certain suspicious activity. This is of particular importance if you notice activity within a couple days, especially during the night or even during the day. Sometimes they will dispatch a police officer to take a drive down to that particular area of concern to see what's going on or to even give warning to potential thieves that the police haven't forgotten about that particular corner of the country. If you believe it is important, consider buying a gun for your safety. Most producers already own a sidearm, or a rifle, but if you haven't already it may be worthwhile. Thieves really do not like it when the owner of that farm from where they are planning or attempting to steal from has a gun that that owner knows how to use. You do not need to use the gun to cause injury or worse, you just need to fire it over their heads to let them know you're around and you don't appreciate them taking what belongs to you. Respond quickly if your cattle have been stolen. If you have found that your cattle have indeed been stolen, please talk to the authorities immediately. The sooner that the trail can be followed, the better. Contact your insurer as well, to see what is expected of you by way of follow-up––if you do need to seek compensation, you'll want to make sure you have done everything to assure this. Edit Tips You could consider getting a dog (or more) to protect your animals and your property. But make sure that dog is willing to guard your animals and not shy away from what he's supposed to do. If you own several dogs, their barking may alert you or even serve as a deterrent to would-be thieves. One farmer in Devon painted his sheep bright orange to deter rustlers and it deterred would-be thieves/[3] Perhaps using a harmless bright color on your cattle could do wonders to deter thieves! Only talk to those people you know you can trust. They are more likely to keep an eye out for trouble for you than those that seem a bit shady or suspicious, even in the slightest sense. Be aware of suspicious phone calls regarding your cattle. Treat phone calls as a scam if someone you don't know asks if you're selling any cattle out of the blue or who asks for personal information of your farm or ranch. Ask for a name, why they are calling, and if they persist, tell them you'd have to talk with the police first. Areas which have seen continued cattle rustling problems include Texas, Oklahoma, cattle areas in Canada (6,000 thefts a year), the UK, New Zealand and Australia, Kenya, South Sudan, etc.[3] In some cases in Africa, human lives have been lost too, in the attempts to protect cattle. Edit Warnings Don't take the law into your hands if you see someone stealing your property. There's a chance that the thieves will be armed themselves and could hurt you or worse if you approach them. Other stock may be taken during the theft, such as sheep, goats and any animal that appears of value. Report any sales of very cheap cattle meat that suddenly appear. This might be a sign of stolen cattle. Edit Things You'll Need Brands/tags for cattle Good location of handling yards and the like Neighborhood network Cellphone for fast reporting of suspicious behavior or stock loss; add fast dial numbers for relevant local authorities Sensor lighting around all buildings and homestead; light will usually deter thieves Padlocks/bolts etc. Edit Related wikiHows How to Protect Your Business Property Against Theft How to Prevent Identity Theft Edit Sources and Citations Article Tools Read on wikiHow Email this Article Edit Discuss Media files: 200px-Cattle-at-Klågerup.jpg (image/jpeg) 200px-Paper-Weaving-10.jpg (image/jpeg) 200px-Ear-Tag.jpg (image/jpeg) 200px-P1210299.jpg (image/jpeg) 200px-Old-Creek-Loading-Chute.jpg (image/jpeg) 200px-Rural-road-at-Lima.jpg (image/jpeg) 200px-Waiting-Patiently-in-a-Sheltered-Corner-1.jpg (image/jpeg) 200px-Quonset-Hut.jpg (image/jpeg) 200px-Untouched-by-Human-Track.jpg (image/jpeg)

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