In the second case, no arrests were made. In both cases, the farmers did not have proper insurance to cover the significant financial losses. These farmers have expressed feelings of fear, rage and violation at the seemly senseless crimes and frustration in the outcome of law enforcement investigations. John Comerford, Extension livestock specialist at Pennsylvania State University, says no matter how or why these crimes are committed, or who is at fault, the psychological impact of attacks on livestock often overshadows the monetary losses to producers. The loss of a cow which produces offspring is also a significant blow to a breeding program because it can destroy years of work in developing bloodlines and mean thousands of dollars in losses for an owner.
Statistics show rural crime happens in all areas of the country.
Although violent crimes directed at livestock may be infrequent, just about all farmers and ranchers are likely to be subjected to crimes of vandalism, fraud and theft some time in their lives. Go west of the Mississippi and you'll find cattle theft is as commonplace today as it was 100 years ago. In Texas it's a particularly serious problem not only because of the large number of cattle but because this state borders four other states as well as Mexico. Although cattle theft is not a big problem in the Northeast, Joseph Donnermeyer, an Ohio State University professor of human and community resource development, says Ohio is experiencing an escalation of other types of rural crimes. Studies and data gathering efforts at Ohio State University and several other universities prove rural crime is not an isolated problem for any one part of the country.