Cattle rustling is on the rise in Texas. From 2007 to 2008 alone, reports of stolen cattle went from about 4000, to more than 6000 head. Special rangers say the economy is part of the reason. The money involved is significant.

Typically a rancher or land owner will drive up to find a gate and lock breached. They'll see tire tracks where someone has backed in with a trailer and loaded up cattle. The thieves often come at night, but with some ranches being so vast and remote, they can also hit during broad daylight. Thieves usually try to sell them as quickly as possible. Cattle auctions happen daily in Texas and as many as one or two thousand cattle can change hands at each. As a special ranger pointed out to us, it's not like fencing your neighbor's T.V., where you might get pennies on the dollar. A cow gets full market value at the time it is sold. One farmer told us he lost forteen calves which were worth seven thousand dollars at the time.

A team of almost thirty special rangers investigates cattle rustling in Texas and Oklahoma. They do this mostly by working backwards. They get a report of stolen cattle, and then try to match it to descriptions of cattle sold at auctions. The job is obviously much tougher when cattle aren't branded. Many of them aren't.

In an attempt to help combat cattle rustling, Texas lawmakers recently stiffened the penalties for it. As of this September when the new law goes into effect, someone caught stealing just one cow, will face two to ten years in prison.