Manitoba Beef Producers hope for measures to combat cattle theft, fraud

As the industry continues to grow, Manitoba Beef Producers are hoping to introduce more safeguard measures against cattle theft and fraud in the province.  

With the value of cattle increasing in Canada, Matthew Atkinson says the cattle industry in Manitoba is becoming more vulnerable to crime – due to the lack of safeguards in place.

“There’s a lot of value in what inspection and enforcement can do,” said Matthew Atkinson, the president of Manitoba Beef Producers with Cattle Producer in Manitoba.

The Manitoba Beef Producers is calling on Manitoba to have cattle inspection services expanded in the province by lobbying for an RCMP officer position dedicated to livestock and agriculture. 

“A livestock inspection system has been something that has been battered around here in Manitoba for a very long time and this has really brought it to the forefront again, partially due to some issues in the province, but partially due to just the increase of the livestock out there right now,” said Atkinson.

Atkinson is a cattle producer near Neepawa, Manitoba, about 170 kilometres west of Winnipeg. He says the organization has been facing pressure to put better safeguard measures in place to be more on par with other provinces.

Since 2019, Manitoba RCMP says there have been 42 cases of cattle theft opened, with 2022 having the most at 22.

Unlike Manitoba, Saskatchewan, B.C., and Alberta have a provincial cattle inspection service – which goes hand in hand with an RCMP position dedicated to livestock.

“On the RCMP side, there is someone on enforcement there, with time dedicated to the file to actually follow up on these. That is not criticizing the current RCMP, but it is very tough when you don’t have a background in the livestock industry and there is everything else going on, on a daily basis,” said Atkinson.

Cpl. Lindsey Anderson is one of two RCMP officers in the Livestock Investigations Unit in Alberta. She says she has seen an increase in service calls related to cattle theft and fraud – assisting in 100 such files in 2023.

“Our job is to do all of the provincial enforcement for our provincial livestock acts, brand inspections, stray animals, and any cattle leaving the province. As well as we assist all the detachments across the province for any livestock-related provincial offences but also criminal code, as they relate to cattle theft, fraud, unnecessary suffering, those types of investigations,” said Cpl. Anderson.

“This is people’s livelihood, so if you have three loads of cattle stolen from a producer that have just been out grazing, that could ruin him of her.”

In the fall of 2020, Saskatchewan added an RCMP officer position dedicated to livestock investigations, which has become a link between police and the industry. Garth Woods from the Livestock Services of Saskatchewan says this position has, in his words, immensely helped.

“You need a knowledgeable set of eyes on it to understand what is civil and when someone crosses the line. What have they done? Is it fraud? Theft? Harbouring of the stray? Harbouring of Animals? Offences against custom care regulations, you name it,” said Garth Woods, the operations manager of Livestock Services of Saskatchewan.

Ron Kostyshyn, Minister of Agriculture in Manitoba added, “Beef producers have been getting a good price for their cattle, but it is also driving up the risk of increased cattle theft. As Minister of Agriculture and as someone who raised cattle for nearly forty years, I appreciate the Manitoba Beef Producer’s leadership on this issue. Other western provinces have long had industry-led cattle inspection services, and we strongly agree with MBP that this issue needs to be addressed here in Manitoba, and so we want to work further with them on this.”