Honorable &u-y Ssbesta 

County Attorney. Bastrop County 

Aastrop, Texas 

Dear Sir: Opinion No. O-6229 

Re: Cattle brands; would a brand 

suah as "C on the right hip 

and X on the right shoulder" 

be construed 88 two separate 

brands, or as one and the 

same brand? 

Your letter of recent date requesting our opinion on the above 

question has been aonsidered. 

Article 6890, Vernon's Annotated Civil Statutes, reads as follows* 

"Every person who has cattle, hogs, sheep or goats 

shall have an ear mark and brand differing from the ear 

mark and brand of his neighbors, which ear mark and brand 

shall be recorded by the county clerk of the county where 

such animals shall be. No person shall use more than one 

brand, but may record his brand in a8 many counties as he 

deems, necessary.' 

Article 1484 of the Penal Code of this State is as follower 

"Whoever in originally branding or marking cattle 

uses more than one mark or brand shall be fined not less 

than twenty-five nor more than one hundred dollars for 

each animal so branded or marked." 

Artials 1466 of the Penal Code provides8 

"Any county clerk who shall record any brand when 

the person having the same recorded fails to designate 

the part of the animal upon whioh the same is to be placed 

shall be fined not less than ten nor more than fifty dollars." 

In our Opinion No. O-5678, we said in parts 

"The last quoted article (Article 1466, P.C., supra) 

is an extraction from the 4ot of March 23, 1874, (Gen. Laws, 

14th Leg., p. 45, sec. 42). Sea. 20 of this Aat required 
Honorable Henry Sebesta, page 2 O-6229 

the party having a brand recorded to designate the part of 

the animal upon which the brand would be placed. Althoughthis section was omitted when the statutes were revised, 

the courts have held that it is plain, from reading Art. 

1486, supra, that the record of a brand to be legal, the 

recorder must designate the part of the animal upon which 

the brand is to be placed. hamel ~8. State, z S.W. 606. 

The court in the case of Reese vs. State, 43 Tex. Cr. R. 

539, 67 S.M. 325, sustained the contention that a recorded 

brand designated as a figure either on the hip or side of 

animal violated our penal statutes providinGhat Gperson 

shall have more than one brand and providing an offense for 

any county clerk to record any brand unless the part of the 

animal upon which the same is to be placed is designated. 

Accord: Steed vs. Stats, 43 Tex. Cr. R. 567, 67 S.W. 330. 

In the light of these cases, we agree with the court in 

Preismuth vs. State, 1 Tex. Ct. of Civ. App. R. 580, where 

it stated that the law seems to make the partiaular portion 

of the animal upon which the brand is to be placed equally 

as improtant as the letters or characters used in the brand 

itself. 

"These authorities in effect hold that a figure 

located on different ports of an animal's body is not a 

brand that can be properly recorded in accordance with the 

provisions of our marks and brands statutes. Further, that 

such a recordation is in violation of our penal statutes, 

one of which is that no person shall have in use more than 

one brand. In other words, the same figure at different 

locations on the animal's body is not one brand but several - 

brands. . ..!' 

If the same figure or symbol located on different parts of an 

animal's body is nota brand that can be properly recorded, it is our 

opinion that different figures or symbols placed on different parts of 

the body would likewise. and for a stronger reason, be considered two 

different brands. 

Ke therefore hold in answer to your specific question that 

if more than one figure or character is used in a brand, the figures or 

characters used should be on the same portion of the animal's body. 

Therefore such a brand as "C on the right hip and X on the right shoulder" 

would be considered two separate brands. 

BK:db:wc 

Yours very truly 

ATTORWY GENERAL OF TUAS 

APPROWD OCT. 4, 1944 

s/Grover Sellers By s/Benjamin Woodall 

j~TTOl7Nk.Y GEl'rUL OF TEXAS Ben jamin Moodall 

Approved Opinion Committee Ey s/SW8 Chairman Assistant