Cattle rustling, stealing cows and selling them, is making a comeback in the old West, and is driven in part by the recession: across the Western US, ranchers are seeing the return of a crime that went out with the cowboy. In Texas, where the beef industry is worth $6.3 billlion, over 6,400 cows were reported stolen in 2008.

Swabians trying to recuperate cows from the Swiss during Swabian wars (image ©2009 Faksimile Verlag Luzern)

It is easy. Cows worth $700 each can be loaded onto a trailer and taken to auction, and sold. Unlike other stolen goods, stolen cows keep their value. Branding a cow is not compulsory in Texas, and some dishonest ranch hands reportedly “hair brand” the cow, searing only the hair, not the hide, so the owner’s brand is covered up when the hair grows back.

Cattle rustling is ancient, and has been the cause of differences between neighbours from time immemorial. During the last war between the Austrian empire and the nascent Swiss confederation in 1499, called the Swabian war, the Swiss defeated the Swabians, and gained an important measure of political autonomy from the empire. They also kept the cows. ABC News, Craig Daily Press, LA Times

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