Western Oklahoma ranchers using DNA to nab cattle rustlers

WOODWARD, Okla. (AP) -- Ranchers used to be able to thwart cattle rustling with a fast horse and a sturdy rope.<br><br>Modern technology has made DNA the new weapon.<br><br>Woodward County rancher John

Monday, April 12th 2004, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

WOODWARD, Okla. (AP) -- Ranchers used to be able to thwart cattle rustling with a fast horse and a sturdy rope.

Modern technology has made DNA the new weapon.

Woodward County rancher John Stine recently used DNA analysis to find his stolen calf.

It was the first time in the history of Woodward County Sheriff's Department that investigators used DNA to catch a suspected rustler.

Deputies arrested Ruperto Castaneda-Fraire after DNA analysis proved that Castaneda-Fraire sold Stine a calf that once belong to Stine.

Stine paid $544 at a sale barn for a calf he suspected was his, then paid $350 for the DNA analysis to prove it.

"I didn't mind doing it because I wanted to prove a point," he said. "Getting these people prosecuted is a struggle."

DNA analysis has been used sparingly in cattle rustling cases, but often results in convictions.

Texas County Sheriff Arnold Peoples, whose department is in a 14-county task force that meets quarterly to discuss cases, said he only used DNA one time, in 1990, but it resulted in a conviction. He said that was the first case he knew of in the Southwest.

"I said, 'They do DNA on humans. Why can't they do it on cattle?"' he said.

While cost of DNA could be a drawback, Chuck Brown, the state Agriculture Department's assistant director for legal services, said he expects DNA testing to increase because ranchers will see it as a good investment.

DNA testing is just one tool to catch elusive cattle rustlers.

In 2003, the association's 30 inspectors investigated 1,218 cases and recovered 4,561 head of cattle in Oklahoma and Texas. They recovered a little more than $5 million in property that year, which included cattle, horses and agricultural equipment, said Joe Rector, a region supervisor.

"Most of it is just good old-fashioned police work," he said.

Brown said the four inspectors with the Agriculture Department are now working 60 cases of agricultural theft, which includes cattle, horses or agricultural equipment. The number of open cases has gone as high as 100 at a time, he said.

Oklahoma has no livestock branding law or requirements for tagging trailers, which sometimes makes it hard to track down thieves.