Special rangers 'keep the peace' in cattle country

Saturday, January 31, 2015

If you are a rancher in Texas and some cattle go missing, you might call on the local police, or you might ring up what amounts to your own private security force.

The 16,000 operation strong Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, with 50,000 individual members managing four million head of cattle on 76 million acres of range and pasture, employ 30 "special rangers" commissioned by the Texas Department of Public Safety and/or the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation.

In December, a special agent tracked down and arrested a Fairfax, Okla., man alleged to have stolen seven head of cattle on three different days from a neighbour selling them at three different livestock markets. The suspect was charged with larceny. According to an association press release, the alleged culprit "was barricaded in a house closet when the arrest was made."

The press release says rangers "are trained in all facets of law enforcement." The association itself is 137 years old. Its website says special rangers investigate about 1,000 agricultural crimes annually and recover an average of $5 million in stolen cattle and assets for ranchers. There is an anonymous phone in line with cash awards for information leading to the arrest and/or grand jury indictment of thieves.

As well as chasing down stolen assets and educating landowners on how to prevent theft, the rangers also pursue white collar criminals who commit agricultural fraud. And they generally "keep the peace" in cattle country. BF