Rancher belongs on his land and thieves belong in jail

By MANDY SPIKES | Central Texas Edition

Eddie Foreman has been a field inspector for the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers for the past 25 years. Field inspectors are hired to to chase down and arrest cattle thieves. "We are hired to find the bad guy and take him to jail," Foreman explained. -Staff photo by Spikes

December 25, 2003 -- Eddie Foreman has been in law enforcement for 37 years. His greatest enjoyment is seeing justice served, no matter what the crime. For 25 of those years, he has been a field inspector for the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association (TSCRA).

The organization, which was founded in 1877, began as a way to help deal with the problem of cattle thieves that had arisen in Texas. "So many ranchers were moving around Texas and they were losing their cattle, so that is why the TSCRA was formed," Foreman explained.

In 1883, the first field inspected position was created, a position that Foreman holds today. Field inspectors are hired to chase down and arrest cattle thieves. "We work on any type of criminal act against livestock. While we still carry guns and chase down the cattle thieves, our job has become a more modernized."

In 1883, field inspectors chased down the thieves with horses and paperwork was done with paper and pencil. Today, Foreman stated, horses have been replaced with trucks and paperwork is now done on a computer. "But it's the same job that it has been since the beginning."

Cattle crimes are still a big problem, he stated. In 2001, stolen livestock and ranch equipment worth more than $4.3 million were recovered or accounted. "We do our best to chase the bad guy and recover the rancher's property."

While the resources available for ranchers have changed over the years, the same quality of service has not. "We have lobbyists in Austin to see how the regulations made will affect ranchers. We are very active in animal health and we also have a great hospital insurance program for the rancher." TSCRA also has a hotline set up for those ranchers who have legal problems at their farm and ranch. Foreman explained that the organization is trying to be more visible to local people.

"People who join TSCRA have access to me whenever they want. Once they have access to me they never want to see me," he stated. "They don't want to see me because that means they are having a legal problem and need me for law enforcement. "

Even if a TSCRA member does not have a problem, he encouraged people to contact him. "People think we are not there until they have a problem, but we are there for them all the time."

Foreman stated that their salary is strictly paid for by membership. "We are not a government entity or a state employee. Being a member helps pay my salary."

The TSCRA is a strong advocate for the rancher, he explained. "It's important for members to tell us how they feel about an issue. If they don't tell us, we might get the wrong idea of what our membership wants from us."

For $90 a year, any rancher can be a TSCRA member. "I don't know anyone who hasn't gotten their money's worth by being a member. Anybody in the state of Texas that is a rancher has benefited from TSCRA whether they are a member or not.

"I have been in law enforcement since I was 21. By having this job I get to have the best of both worlds - being a lawman and working with ranchers. They are my kind of people and I enjoy putting away the bad guys.

"Everybody belongs somewhere. The rancher belongs on his land and thieves belong in jail."

For more information on TSCRA, visit their website at: www.texascattleraisers.org.