High prices spark cattle rustling

FORT WORTH, Texas, Oct. 30 (UPI) -- Rising beef prices are being blamed for a resurgence of cattle rustling in Kansas, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.

The Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, based in Fort Worth, Texas, says livestock thefts increased more than 50 percent from 2004 to 2005, USA Today reported.

One high-profile case involved the ranch of baseball Hall of Fame member Nolan Ryan, which lost calves in two separate thefts last year.

In Missouri, Gov. Matt Blunt has created a special rustling unit in response to a surge of thefts in the southwestern part of his state, USA Today said.

The unit, aided by a new cattle-theft hotline, has recovered stolen livestock valued at more than $400,000, a spokesman for the Missouri Highway Patrol told the newspaper.

Reports of thefts over the past year have "overwhelmed" the Kansas Cattlemen's Association, spokesman Lynae Beam said.