FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

TSCRA Inspectors Recover More Than $6.2 Million
In Stolen Livestock and Equipment in 2005

FORT WORTH, Texas, March 30, 2006—Stolen livestock and ranch equipment worth more than $6.2 million were recovered or accounted for in 2005 by the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association. The Fort Worth-based producer group was founded 129 years ago to fight the theft problem.
      TSCRA currently has 29 field inspectors strategically stationed throughout Texas and Oklahoma who have in-depth knowledge of the cattle industry and are trained in all facets of law enforcement. All are commissioned as Special Rangers by the Texas Department of Public Safety and/or the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation.
      In an annual report given March 29 to members attending TSCRA’s annual convention in San Antonio, Executive Vice President Matt Brockman said that in 2005, the association’s field inspectors investigated 1,100 cases in Texas and Oklahoma, primarily involving stray or stolen livestock.
      Working closely with federal, state and local law enforcement officers, the inspectors recovered or accounted for 5,199 head of cattle, 40 horses, 12 trailers, 16 saddles and 846 items of miscellaneous ranch property, which had a total market value of $6,232,971.55. The average value of property recovered or accounted for each day was $17,077.
      Offenders were given 133 years of prison, probated, deferred or suspended sentences and ordered to perform one year and 1,264 hours of community service. In addition, the courts ordered those convicted to pay $633,975 in restitution to the victims, $16,901 in fines and $8,070 in court costs.
      Brockman said the association also employs 80 market inspectors who identified 4,766,235 sold through the 119 auction markets in Texas during 2005. TSCRA also inspects all horses at the two commercial processing plants in Texas.
      The inspectors report their findings to the group’s Fort Worth headquarters, where the information is processed for computer retrieval. TSCRA distributes information on missing and stolen livestock to more than 700 law enforcement agencies nationwide.
      “But this isn’t just about stats,” Brockman emphasized. “It’s mainly about the people that are impacted by the crimes, people that get assistance from our field inspectors.”
      Brockman encouraged all cattle producers and owners of other livestock and farm and ranch equipment to take steps to protect themselves from theft. He invited them to contact their local TSCRA field inspector or the Fort Worth office for theft prevention and brand information.

      Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association is a 129-year-old trade organization whose 13,600 members manage approximately 5.4 million cattle on 70.3 million acres of range and pasture land, primarily in Texas and Oklahoma.

—TSCRA-5-2006—