Rustling Still A Problem For Ranchers

Horse-rustling is no longer a hanging offense, but it remains a serious problem for ranchers whose livelihoods ride on their valuable livestock.

Statewide, an average 500 cattle and 20 to 30 horses are unaccounted for each year, said Rodger Huffman, administrator of the Agriculture Department’s livestock identification division.

“That’s just what is reported to us,” he said. “It could be many times higher than that.

“Thefts go in cycles. Most of that is based on market conditions. When there is a lot of money to be made, it goes up.”

With 1.1 million cows and 16,000 horses to inspect, the state’s 72 brand inspectors have their hands full, Huffman said.

“All the brand inspectors have an extensive background and a real interest in helping the livestock industry,” said Huffman, who was raised on a cattle ranch in northeastern Oregon.

All told, there are about 1.5 million head of cattle in Oregon, but nearly a half-million aren’t branded, Huffman estimated. While branding isn’t required, it makes identification of livestock much easier when ownership comes into question.

Last month, state inspector Denny Jones identified an unbranded appaloosa stud at a livestock sale as a horse that might have been stolen.

“It was more than his markings,” Jones said of the white-dappled horse. “It was his conformation that caught my eye. Just the way he stood.”

Jones recalled that in August, a Cave Junction-area woman had reported an appaloosa stud horse missing. She provided a photograph of the $10,000 horse.

“We put a stop on that horse right there,” Jones said of the sale. “Yeah, it turned out to be the missing horse.”