{"id":30618,"date":"2013-08-20T06:45:20","date_gmt":"2013-08-20T11:45:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/?p=30618"},"modified":"2013-08-27T08:44:16","modified_gmt":"2013-08-27T13:44:16","slug":"cattle-theft-on-the-rise-in-texas-despite-tougher-penalties","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2013\/08\/20\/cattle-theft-on-the-rise-in-texas-despite-tougher-penalties\/","title":{"rendered":"Cattle Theft on The Rise in Texas, Despite Tougher Penalties"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Larry<\/a>

Photo by Mose Buchele<\/p>

Larry Schatte manages an auction house in Giddings.<\/p><\/div>\n

The Giddings Livestock Commission holds its auction every Monday. Hundreds of cows pass through, brought in by their rightful owners to be sold to the highest bidder. But, every now and then, auction manager Larry Larry Schatte says, a contraband cow finds its way into the mix.<\/p>\n

\u201cProbably about a year ago. This one guy, he\u2019d usually bring in some cattle for his mom,” Schatte told StateImpact Texas on a recent auction day that the man would always bring in the same kind of cow, a specific type of cross breed.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd this one particular time he came in with a couple of long horns, and I thought it was kind of an odd deal,” he said.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Turns out, it was. The cattle had been stolen from a ranch where the man worked. Stories like this are becoming more and more common.<\/p>\n

Ranchers saw a sharp jump in cattle rustling last year in Texas and Oklahoma. Over 10,000 cows and horses were reported missing or stolen. That\u2019s an almost 40 percent increase from the year before. It\u2019s a trend that\u2019s surprised some in law enforcement.<\/p>\n