Theft of livestock increases slightly over 2015

Alberta has seen a slight increase in livestock theft over the past year.

According to RCMP livestock investigators, a total of 625 head of cattle went missing in 2015.

“It's been relatively stable over the last number of years but this year there's been a slight increase, about a five per cent increase,” said Cpl. Chris Reister, southern Alberta RCMP livestock investigator.

Reister is one of two RCMP livestock investigators in the province that deal with theft of livestock. He covers the central and southern part of Alberta, from Red Deer south, and is based in the Airdre southern Alberta headquarters.

He said there's been speculation and theories to explain the slight increase, including several factors.

“Whether it's increased due to the price of cattle doubling in the last few years or that producers are keeping better records and better count, and reporting loss more so than when cattle was of less value,” Reister said, noting the concern among RCMP and farmers alike.

“It is (concerning) only because cattle are worth more now. The numbers may only be five per cent but if the value of cattle has doubled in the last few years, the actual value of the theft has gone up just due to prices alone,” he added, noting that the amount is considerable when other costs are taken into consideration, such as land and farming equipment.

“In addition to the five per cent (increase) you've got a remarkable loss to the industry,” said Reister. “It's one more loss that producers are incurring.”

Another area of concern is the burden that livestock thefts cause financial institutions.

“Oftentimes lending institutions borrow money for cattle and they maintain a security interest in the cattle,” he said. “In some of these cases you may see people sell cattle that don't belong to them (who profit from the sale).

“That's theft by conversion. We need to maintain confidence in the banking and lending world for producers to survive. It's something that they all rely on.”

There could be a variety of things that people do with stolen livestock noted Reister, including selling them for financial gain, keeping them within a herd while continuing to raise calves off of them or have them butchered.

“By and large we think that a lot of them are sold privately,” he said, noting that brand inspectors at every market in Alberta, Saskatchewan and British Columbia inspect all cattle going through those markets.

The best way to try and prevent rustling, or the theft of livestock, is by branding and tagging cattle. Producers in Western Canada identify their livestock through branding and tags, noted Reister.

“Brand is the primary way of identifying livestock,” he said.

Despite the slight increase, Reister encourages all farmers and people who live in rural areas to call their local RCMP detachment should they notice something suspicious pertaining to livestock theft, or they may also call livestock identification services.