Today while driving home from work, I heard a story about a recent crime on the radio that really made my blood boil to a new high. It was about two boys from South Central Iowa who allegedly (innocent until proven guilty) stole from local farms in their areas. Besides $5,000 in farm equipment, the boys also managed to steal live cattle and pigs, valued at around $25,000. If you consider the livestock markets today ($160/ 100lbs for live cattle and $57.17/100 lbs for live pigs), that's more than just a pig here or cow there. Now I can't speak for the boys to explain their actions, but I can guarantee that these boys did not realize they were stealing a lot more than animals and equipment.
The boys are being charged with First Degree Theft and Third Degree Burglary, but I am thoroughly shocked that they are not being charged with Animal Cruelty on top of those charges. Each farm, especially in the swine industry, has a strict biosecurity and management plan they follow. This helps to ensure the health and safety for the animals in their facilities. Those animals have built up an immunity that is directly influenced by the environment they live in. Pigs on one farm have gained certain antibodies that pigs on other farms may not have. By taking them out of their environment, you are putting them at a very high risk of becoming ill. When these teens took those pigs and cattle off of their original farms, they were endangering the welfare and health of those animals. Not only did they put the stolen animals at risk, but they also put the entire original herd at risk when they stepped foot onto the farms. Humans are known carriers for many swine diseases that can infect an entire herd, which can really set a producer back financially. Apparently putting animals' health at risk was worth it for these youth or something they just didn't think their actions could cause.
Besides harming the animals, these thieves also hurt the producers they stole from. Farmers and ranchers dedicate their entire lives towards creating food for our plates and clothes on our bodies. They spend countless hours away from their families ensuring their animals are well cared for and safe. To steal from someone who ensures you have food to eat and clothes on your back is the biggest slap in the face you could ever give to farmers. How dare you steal from some of the hardest working people on the planet. Yes, equipment can be replaced rather easily (though it's still a financial burden), but animals cannot be replaced overnight. Cattle and hog producers time their herd through an all-in/all-out timeline. This means their cows and sows give birth all around the same time, they wean all their piglets and calves at the same time, and market the mature animals at the same time as well. This has many biosecurity and health benefits for the heard. One calf or piglet cannot simply be replaced in a day. For cattle, it would take 9 months to replace a stolen calf, and for pigs it would take 114 days to replace a stolen piglet. Considering the animals stolen were worth $25,000, there was probably more than one piglet and one calf stolen. That's a lot of time for a producer to try to re-supplement his loses.
The biggest thing these thieves stole was the community's sense of security. Cattle and pig farmers already spend a lot of sleepless nights worrying if that young heifer is going to have problems calving or if that sow will be able to farrow her litter without needing any pigs pulled. The affected producers and pretty much producers everywhere that here about this story will have one more thing to worry about when they go to bed. They are going to wonder and worry if that calf will still be in the pasture in the morning or if their finishing barn is going to be raided by burglars in the night. The trust in the area is virtually gone. No one would ever suspect that two teenage boys would ever even think about stealing from their neighbors, let alone their neighbors who work towards feeding the world. Anything is possible now and it will be very hard for producers to feel secure on their own land again.
Ultimately, I am not the judge in this court case, and those boys are pretty dang lucky that I am not. They have not been officially proven guilty but as an agriculturalist I show no mercy to anybody who thinks they have a right to take something away from an industry that works tirelessly to serve the rest of the world. Farmers and ranchers give up time with their families and sacrifice a lot personally and financially to ensure that the growing global population will not be hungry or naked. I was absolutely enraged when I heard about this story, and I just cannot fathom why these boys thought it was ok to do what they did. Their actions affected more than just a few producers, and I believe that karma will come around to give these boys exactly what they deserve.
The boys are being charged with First Degree Theft and Third Degree Burglary, but I am thoroughly shocked that they are not being charged with Animal Cruelty on top of those charges. Each farm, especially in the swine industry, has a strict biosecurity and management plan they follow. This helps to ensure the health and safety for the animals in their facilities. Those animals have built up an immunity that is directly influenced by the environment they live in. Pigs on one farm have gained certain antibodies that pigs on other farms may not have. By taking them out of their environment, you are putting them at a very high risk of becoming ill. When these teens took those pigs and cattle off of their original farms, they were endangering the welfare and health of those animals. Not only did they put the stolen animals at risk, but they also put the entire original herd at risk when they stepped foot onto the farms. Humans are known carriers for many swine diseases that can infect an entire herd, which can really set a producer back financially. Apparently putting animals' health at risk was worth it for these youth or something they just didn't think their actions could cause.
Besides harming the animals, these thieves also hurt the producers they stole from. Farmers and ranchers dedicate their entire lives towards creating food for our plates and clothes on our bodies. They spend countless hours away from their families ensuring their animals are well cared for and safe. To steal from someone who ensures you have food to eat and clothes on your back is the biggest slap in the face you could ever give to farmers. How dare you steal from some of the hardest working people on the planet. Yes, equipment can be replaced rather easily (though it's still a financial burden), but animals cannot be replaced overnight. Cattle and hog producers time their herd through an all-in/all-out timeline. This means their cows and sows give birth all around the same time, they wean all their piglets and calves at the same time, and market the mature animals at the same time as well. This has many biosecurity and health benefits for the heard. One calf or piglet cannot simply be replaced in a day. For cattle, it would take 9 months to replace a stolen calf, and for pigs it would take 114 days to replace a stolen piglet. Considering the animals stolen were worth $25,000, there was probably more than one piglet and one calf stolen. That's a lot of time for a producer to try to re-supplement his loses.
The biggest thing these thieves stole was the community's sense of security. Cattle and pig farmers already spend a lot of sleepless nights worrying if that young heifer is going to have problems calving or if that sow will be able to farrow her litter without needing any pigs pulled. The affected producers and pretty much producers everywhere that here about this story will have one more thing to worry about when they go to bed. They are going to wonder and worry if that calf will still be in the pasture in the morning or if their finishing barn is going to be raided by burglars in the night. The trust in the area is virtually gone. No one would ever suspect that two teenage boys would ever even think about stealing from their neighbors, let alone their neighbors who work towards feeding the world. Anything is possible now and it will be very hard for producers to feel secure on their own land again.
Ultimately, I am not the judge in this court case, and those boys are pretty dang lucky that I am not. They have not been officially proven guilty but as an agriculturalist I show no mercy to anybody who thinks they have a right to take something away from an industry that works tirelessly to serve the rest of the world. Farmers and ranchers give up time with their families and sacrifice a lot personally and financially to ensure that the growing global population will not be hungry or naked. I was absolutely enraged when I heard about this story, and I just cannot fathom why these boys thought it was ok to do what they did. Their actions affected more than just a few producers, and I believe that karma will come around to give these boys exactly what they deserve.