ALR Helps Bust Cattle Rustler
Recently, a call came in to the ALR office from
Nebraska Brand Inspector Rick Bickford.
He was investigating a case of theft involving Lowline-cross cattle. The stolen
cattle were not
registered, but the sire of one half-blood Lowline bull was known to be a
registered fullblood
Lowline. Because of the American Lowline Registry's parent verification
requirement for
fullbloods, the sire's DNA was on file. DNA testing of the half-blood bull
proved his sire, which
also proved his identity in this case, and helped to bring about two felony
charges against the
(alleged) thief. Score two for the good guys, the victim got his cattle back
and the law got good
scientific evidence for the case against the criminal.
The overall irony of the situation was not lost on Inspector Bickford -
even though the
stolen cattle were neither registered nor branded, it was the brand inspector
and the records of the
breed registry which ultimately proved their identity. Mr. Bickford also
commented that the
Nebraska Cattleman's Association has a standing $5000 reward for information
leading to the
recovery of stolen cattle, but that the reward was only paid out one time in his
memory, because
you must be a Nebraska Cattlemen's Association member to collect. So, support
your state
Cattlemen's association as well as your breed association, it does pay!