After watching television some nights, Red Simpson, a 56-year-old Florida cattle rancher, stars in a private little drama of his own. In the classic tradition of the video western, Simpson moseys out to his faithful Jeep and for several hours rides the range of Osceola County in search of rustlers. Cattle raising, long overshadowed by Florida’s famous beach resorts, is big business in the Sunshine State, where the first stock was brought in by Ponce de León in 1521. Today almost a quarter of all Florida’s acreage is grazing land for 1,800,000 head of beef. But the vast spreads, some of which measure 300,000 acres, are difficult to patrol. Despite the best efforts of men like Red Simpson, increasingly active rustlers make off with an estimated $3,000,000 worth of Florida beef each year.
The worst threat comes from organized gangs, which nightly prowl the back roads of the cattle country until they spot an unguarded herd. Working swiftly, the thieves cut out the best cattle, load them onto their trucks and speed away to remote areas, where huge trailers are waiting with their lights off. After ten or 15 prime steers are led up a loading ramp into the trailer, the van roars off. Rustlers have no trouble selling the steers for up to $300 a head at regularly scheduled livestock auctions, some in Georgia and Alabama. Many ranchers contend that a portion of the stolen beef winds up in Florida’s resort motels and Mafia-controlled restaurants.
Besides the professional, gang-style rustlers, amateur poachers pose a problem. They lasso and shoot or knife one or two steers at a time and often butcher them on the spot. Some of the meat goes into their freezers for future backyard barbecues. The rest is bootlegged to retailers. Because this beef is uninspected and carries no “prime” or “choice” stamps, it is usually ground up and sold as hamburger. Most sheriffs lack the manpower to check the rustlers. Instead, ranchers send gun-toting cowboys on range patrols in trucks and even light planes. The Florida Cattlemen’s Association puts up $500 for tips leading to the conviction of any rustler; in the past 15 months, the reward has been collected only eight times. To sweeten the pot, county associations now offer additional rewards of up to $1,000. The state department of agriculture has added an investigative branch to aid local lawmen and, to further deter cattle thieves, the legislature has raised the maximum penalty for trespassing to ten years and a $10,000 fine.
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