Cattle rustlers making Texas comeback

NAVASOTA, Texas, July 4 (UPI) -- The longtime scourge of the Old West, the cattle rustler, is making a reappearance in Texas, where the recession is spurring more thefts, officials say.

Officials say livestock thefts in cattle-rich parts of the state have zoomed since the recession started, and that, mixed with a lingering drought, has plunged the industry into hard times, the Houston Chronicle reported Saturday.

"There's a close profit margin to begin with," Tom Haynie, a Navasota, Texas, rancher told the newspaper. "With the cost of hay, the cost of feed, the drought -- it could put you in the red."

The Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association says the state's farms and ranches rear nearly 14 million head of cattle, and with 6,400 cattle stolen last year, along with another 2,400 taken so far this year, they represent a devastating loss, the newspaper said.

"Everybody's worried, now. Money's tight, and cattle aren't worth a whole lot," said cattle hand Ronnie Thompson. "Everybody's watching their numbers real close."