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Wise Eyes 02-09-2007
MEND YOUR FENCES! As Wise County
faces a lot of needs through the law enforcement community, a number of
situations get placed on the back burner because of an overwhelming problem. Unfortunately, the recent drought has placed livestock to
fend for themselves, eating only what the owners provide, then tearing down
fences to get to the green side. As department policy and safety to the community (drivers) we
respond to loose livestock calls on a daily basis. Not only is this a burden on the Sheriff's deputies, the
Texas Highway Patrol assists us with this task as well. In the year 2006 our communications department logged 1,976
livestock calls with 99% of those calls being about loose livestock.
Reports show all types of livestock on the loose, including cows, horses,
pigs, goats, emus--and the list goes on. What
takes place on these calls is that in an emergency situation the officers and
troopers place the animals in the first open gate, which can be located. This is
done to keep a motorist from having a serious accident. This has happened in the
past. After the animal is secured, our Animal Control Department
tries to locate the owner of the animal and return it safely to its home.
This is sometimes an unsuccessful investigation leading to the
impoundment and sale of the animal. This
is costly to the taxpayers of Wise County.
As time goes on, it is sometimes necessary for our department to issue
citations to citizens who have loose livestock on a reoccurring basis. This
forces the landowner to fix fences, gates and such.
We are aware that animals are animals and they get out
from time to time. Most, if not
all, Wise County livestock owners are very grateful for our call to report that
their livestock is out. Our biggest
hurdle is to overcome problems caused by absentee owners who do not check their
livestock on a routine basis, nor do they have their livestock branded and
registered with the Wise County Clerk's Office for easy identification. What we ask is that everyone be vigilant of their livestock,
check on them regularly as to the count of the herd and look over their
containment fences and gates. If you have a brand for your animals, we also urge you to
register that brand for easy identification by our investigators, so they will
know if it is a loose livestock case, or stolen livestock It is a duty for law enforcement to keep the public safe and we will continue to do so. We feel that our tax dollars can be spent more wisely if we have some assistance from the public concerning containment of their animals.
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