All quiet on rustling front

Photo: Contributed

All appears quiet on the cattle rustling front.

Ted Osborn, with the Coldstream Ranch, says as far as he knows, there have been no more cases of cattle being shot.

During the past few weeks, two cows were shot and killed, with one being butchered where it was killed. The other cow was simply shot and its carcass left in the hills near the King Eddy area. Another cow was shot and butchered in July.

The toll could climb, however, as ranches start to bring their cattle into the valley bottom from the surrounding hills where they spend the warmer months.

Osborn said it's when the cattle are moved that more rusting is often discovered.

“This is not something new in the cattle industry,” said Osborn, who has been associated with Coldstream Ranch since he was a child. His father used to be the general manager.

“I've been around the ranch for more than 40 years, and we have had this sort of thing in the past, and it is usually for a short time.”

“It can be one person or a couple of people. It's occurred in the past, and its just one of those things that happen in the industry,” he said. “It's a shame this sort of thing happens.”

The ranch is still offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the cattle rustlers.

The value of an animal changes based on market value, but Osborn said currently a cow could fetch $2,000.