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Animal rights activists are behind the burning of cattle trucks at the Harris Ranch truck lot early Sunday, according to a statement from the purported arsonists. The statement, released Monday, describes how the fire, which heavily damaged 14 tractors and several trailers, was set and says the attack was aimed at "the horrors of factory farming." Spokeswoman Nicoal R. Sheen of the Animal Liberation Press Office, which released the statement, said the office doesn't take part in illegal actions but distributes communiqués from those who do. Fresno County sheriff's spokesman Chris Curtice said detectives are looking into the claim. He...

Cattle rustlers, casting aside saddle and spurs for modern horsepower, are roaming the West with four-wheel drive and GPS technology in a resurgence of livestock thievery considered a hanging offense on the old frontier. State livestock officials said the increase in cattle crimes was linked to the slumping economy, soaring beef prices and the advent of handheld global positioning systems that allow rustlers to more easily navigate the wide-open range. They said contemporary thieves may find it more convenient and lucrative to pick off a couple cows, worth as much as $2,000 a head, than to rob a convenience store....

An East Texas man with a prolific cattle rustling history spanning more than a decade has been sentenced to 99 years in prison for swindling bovines from a Mississippi rancher. Carl Wade Curry, 44 from Athens was accused of stealing 400 head of cattle worth more than $200,000 last year. District Attorney Staley Heatly says Curry placed an order with a Mississippi man using a fake name and cattle company in Vernon, where the owner shipped the cattle. The owner contacted authorities when he didn't receive payment. A jury in Hardeman County took less than 30 minutes to both convict...

Thank you, Indiana for sending hay to the Texas ranchers! With this drought, they truly need it.

A source on the Rick Perry campaign tells Hot Air that the Texas governor conducted some Texas-size fundraising in the third quarter. Coming in just a little over halfway through, Perry raised $17.1 million. That number would put Perry somewhere between $4-6 million ahead of Mitt Romney’s rumored total for Q3, according to this report last week from the Boston Globe. It’s also likely to far outpace Herman Cain’s fundraising or that of the other Republicans currently in the race. The pace is even more impressive. Perry had 49 days in which to raise funds, rather than the full 92...

Two things you guys. First, this video is very cute. Second, watching these cattle follow the remote-control car reminds me of how the Left operates. Except the cattle smell better and have a superior intellect.

Over 1,300 cattle suspected of radiation contamination shipped TOKYO (Kyodo) -- A total of 1,349 cattle suspected of being fed rice straw containing radioactive cesium have been shipped to 45 of Japan's 47 prefectures, a Kyodo News tally showed Wednesday. On Wednesday, prefectural surveys revealed 699 cattle suspected of such contamination were shipped from farms in Iwate, Akita, Gunma, Niigata, Gifu and Shizuoka prefectures, adding to another herd of such cattle found to have been shipped from farms in Niigata, Fukushima, Yamagata and Saitama prefectures. In Iwate, up to 57,000 becquerels of radioactive cesium per kilogram -- far above the...

Wichita Falls has exceeded 100-degree highs 39 of the past 40 days. There was a string of 100-plus degree days before that. By this date in a normal year, Wichita Falls would have received about 16 inches of rain. This year it has been just over 3 inches. Forecasters are not optimistic about substantial rain between now and September. Wichita County Extension agent Fred Hall said he has talked to old-timers who remember the severe droughts of 1956 and 1980. They recall those droughts started later in the year and there was residual moisture in the ground to help forage....

"They overdrink because they're thirsty." It seems like everyone is feeling the heat this summer. Human, canine, feline, or even bovine, we're all at the mercy of high temperatures.

Anyone looking forward to corn on the cob slathered with butter this summer may find that it has become an expensive part of their diet. Or it not be available at all.

Cows were sacrificed by aliens sending the White House into a panic declassified FBI files have revealed. It is claimed that more than 8,000 cows were abducted by UFOs before they were mutilated and thrown back down to earth over the southern United States during the 1970s. The memo is one of thousands of previously unreleased classified files that the bureau has made public in a new online resource called The Vault. The files detail how the aliens took trophies from their victims in the form of body parts and in some cases they drained the animals entirely of their...

Enjoy

TOWN OF STOCKTON, Wis. -- An investigation is under way after 200 dead cows were found in a field in the Town of Stockton. (More, but not much at link)

WASHINGTON (AP) — A ruling by the Obama administration allowing the sale of gasoline containing 15 percent ethanol is running into legal hurdles from trade groups opposing the plan. The National Petrochemical and Refiners Association sued the Environmental Protection Agency on Monday over the decision to allow the sale of gasoline containing higher blends of corn-based ethanol, the second major group to protest the ruling. The Obama administration said in October that gas stations could start selling the ethanol blend for vehicles built since the 2007 model year, increasing it from the current blend of 10 percent ethanol.

...so some people aren't thrilled with the idea of a stand-up airline seat. How about a saddle seat that threatens injury to your private parts? That's what one Italian company has come up with, CNBC reports. It's developed what it calls the SkyRider, a seat with a 23-inch pitch or less. A 23-inch pitch means there's 23 inches of passenger space between the seats. That's at least 8 inches less than what you normally get in economy class, writes Jane Wells. But that's not the worst part. The company, Aviointeriors, says sitting in the seat is similar to riding on...

Amazingly, the seven-year-old bullock is still growing meaning he could smash through the current British record in a matter of months. When Shaun, a carpet fitter, saved Trigger he had no idea his new black and white friend would grow up to his magnificent size. Trigger's enormous weight means he could potentially make 7,665 Big Macs or even 6,137 Burger King Whoppers. But family pet Trigger lives a life far removed from that of your average livestock. Instead he enjoys a relaxed lifestyle in a field at Kingswood, Herefordshire, where he eats a daily diet of grass, cattle cake,...

Mongolia counts carcasses after harsh winter By CHARLES HUTZLER, Associated Press Writer 2 hrs 48 mins ago UYANGA, Mongolia – Before he can fully tend to his dwindling herd, Demberel has to bury the dead cows, goats and sheep in earth barely thawed from Mongolia's worst winter in decades. Fetid and fly-ridden, the carcasses lie stacked by the hundreds around a burial pit dug by Demberel and a dozen fellow herders. A truck brings dozens more carcasses. Others lie in piles or strewn in nearby valleys, potential health hazards for animals and humans alike. "We're bitter and sad that we've...

Mass output and U.S. rules have diminished flavor; what aficionados should demand Let's talk about steak for a moment. Was the last one you ate good? How about the one before that? Be honest. The first bite, in all probability, was juicy and tender. Not bad. A brief hit of beefiness, enough to spur you on to bite No. 2. But by bite No. 4, there was a problem: grease. The tongue gets entirely coated in it. It is at this point that many hands reach for that terrible abomination called steak sauce. It's acidic and zingy and cuts through...

The man in the orange sunglasses and a fur hat with earflaps seemed more like a jazz musician on a cigarette break than a tribal chief, but as soon as he spoke, village men gathered for a lesson on brides, poor boys and cattle. The shade was just right. John Modi Jubek crossed his legs, striking as regal a pose as a chief can when he's sitting in a plastic chair. It was odd to him that a stranger didn't know the Mundari tribe smiles more upon tall women than on short ones. A father may love his diminutive daughters,...

ABOARD THE HEARTLAND FLYER — Amtrak and transportation officials from Oklahoma and Texas have started a yearlong test to see whether beef-based biodiesel can efficiently run The Heartland Flyer passenger train between Oklahoma City and Fort Worth. Texas cattle are supplying 20 percent of the fuel for the 3,200-horsepower engine, the rest is regular No. 2 diesel.

Recordnet.com reports Kiefer Sutherland, better known as Jack Bauer on the Fox TV show “24”, is victim to a cattle salesman who is now on trial for embezzlement and forgery. While starring in several cowboy movies, the actor developed an interest in cattle ranching. He currently owns a ranch in Montana and participates in rodeo contests. Sutherland was approached by Michael Wayne Carr, a cattle manager and competitive steer roping promoter, who told him about an opportunity to buy cattle in Mexico and sell them for a huge profit to preselected buyers in the US. Sutherland gave Carr $869,000 to...

Aurochs were immortalised in prehistoric cave paintings and admired for their brute strength and "elephantine" size by Julius Caesar. But despite their having gone the way of the dodo and the woolly mammoth, there are plans to bring the giant animals back to life. The huge cattle with sweeping horns which once roamed the forests of Europe have not been seen for nearly 400 years. Now Italian scientists are hoping to use genetic expertise and selective breeding of modern-day wild cattle to recreate the fearsome beasts which weighed around 2,200lb and stood 6.5 feet at the shoulder. Breeds of large...

Rancher Manuel Sanchez has lost four calves in as many weeks, all mysteriously mutilated. Authorities are baffled. (Joe Amon, The Denver Post) SAN LUIS — Manuel Sanchez tucks his leathery hands into well-worn pockets and nods toward a cedar tree where, last month, he found his fourth mysteriously slaughtered calf in as many weeks. "I have no idea what could do this. I wish I did," he says. Four calves, all killed overnight. Their innards gone. Tongues sliced out. Udders carefully removed. Facial skin sliced and gone. Eyes cored away. Not a single track surrounding the carcasses, which were found...

"A creepy string of calf mutilations in southern Colorado has a rancher and law enforcement investigators mystified. Four calves have been found dead in a pasture just north of the New Mexico state line in recent weeks. The dead calves had their skins peeled back and organs cleared from the rib cage. One calf had its tongue removed. But rancher Manuel Sanchez has found no signs of human attackers, such as footprints or ATV tracks. And there are no signs of an animal attack by a coyote or mountain lion . Usually predators leave pools or blood or drag marks...

DALLAS (Reuters) – A vast swathe of Texas remains in the grip of a scorching drought, which has cost billions of dollars and is cleaving America's largest beef cattle herd. One county has seen its entire cotton harvest wiped out and losses for cattle, crops and the state's fast growing game farming industry are seen mounting with no relief in sight. Texas is second only to California in U.S. farm production and the sector's sales for the state topped $21 billion in 2007. The drought-stricken area straddles the central Texas hill country, near the capitol Austin, and stretches south through...

W hen Deerfield farmer Peter Melnik heard about a machine that would make energy from cow manure, he was immediately intrigued. Graphic Farming 'natural gas' Not only would using it make his dairy farm more environmentally friendly, the technology could bring in extra cash by converting methane, an odorous and potent greenhouse gas, into electricity that could be sold to the regional power grid. The machine, called a methane digester, has been popular in Europe since the 1970s, but the idea is just catching on in the United States. Six farms in Vermont have digesters that produce electricity, and Melnik...

Beef farmers can breathe easier thanks to University of Alberta researchers who have developed a formula to reduce methane gas in cattle. By developing equations that balance starch, sugar, cellulose, ash, fat and other elements of feed, a Canada-wide team of scientists has given beef producers the tools to lessen the methane gas their cattle produce by as much as 25 per cent. "That's good news for the environment," said Stephen Moore, a professor of agricultural, food and nutritional science at the University of Alberta. "Methane is a greenhouse gas, and in Canada, cattle account for 72 per cent of...

JOHN DAY -- Ranchers and environmentalists have locked horns over cattle grazing for years. Now a battered economy and a looming court decision are fueling a full-on battle in Grant County. On one side, ranchers and the county chairman say proposed grazing limits could deal a knockout punch to more than a dozen cattle operations and, because of job losses and lost tax revenue, county social services.On the other side, an environmental group says wild steelhead are in decline because of stream bank damage caused by grazing cattle. "The mood here is not good," says Mark Webb, chairman of...

MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) - A landowner shot and killed a wolf on private property near Hamilton over the weekend after he said he saw the animal chasing his cattle. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks investigated Saturday's incident and said the man's actions were warranted. Federal rules say wolves in the experimental wolf population area of Montana - which includes much of the southern half of the state - can legally be killed if they are seen killing or threatening to kill dogs or livestock. All incidents must be reported to FWP within 24 hours.

When an animal rights group sneaks a hidden camera into a livestock operation, it won't capture images of Stacy McLintock bringing nine calves into her kitchen to rub their legs and warm them during a winter storm. But that's exactly what she did this past winter. "They're our big kids," McLintock said Saturday of the calves born to her 100-head herd near Holton. "They're a lot of work but a lot of fun." McLintock was among the audience of cattle producers listening to Dr. Daniel U. Thomson, Jones professor of production medicine at Kansas State University's College of Veterinary Medicine,...

PEACH BOTTOM, Pa. — Jacci Cook is a big fan of the Hangin’ Tree Cowdog breed. Her husband, Herman Cook, has six of the dogs on their 164-acre dairy farm in southern Lancaster County. “With a dog on the job, I don’t have to help drive the cows into the milking parlor, I don’t have to help bring them in from pasture, and if they get out, I don’t have to help round them up. “I love our dogs.” And so does her husband, and their 25-year-old son, Jordan. Father and son manage their 190-head herd of milking cows, young...

The height of the Dexter bull is between 38 and 44 inches. The Dexter cow is between 36-42 inches. Because of their smaller size, some people mistakenly call them miniature. This is wrong. The Dexter Cattle Breed is a true breed. Dexters are, by nature, a smaller breed of cattle.

Farmers Panic About a ‘Cow Tax’ By Kate Galbraith Should their greenhouse gases be taxed? (Photo: Steve Ruark for The New York Times) The comment period for the Environmental Protection Agency’s exploration of greenhouse gas regulation ended last Friday, with farmers lobbying furiously against the notion of a “cow tax” on methane, a potent greenhouse gas emitted by livestock. The New York Farm Bureau issued a statement last week (PDF) saying it feared that a tax could reach $175 per cow, $87.50 per head of beef cattle and upward of $20 for each hog. Such a tax would represent a...

“With the economy in bad shape and the possibility of a deep recession looming, the Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to levy new taxes—on cows and pigs,” American Farm Bureau Federation Director of Regulatory Relations Rick Krause told Wyoming Farm Bureau members at their annual meeting. Krause spoke in Sheridan on Nov. 7. “This is no laughing matter,” Krause said. “The cow tax and the pig tax are parts of a larger scheme by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act.” “Under the proposal, if a state charged the “presumptive minimum rate” from...

California's worst drought in decades is forcing the state's cattle ranchers to downsize their herds because two years of poor rainfall have ravaged millions of acres of rangeland used to feed their cows and calves. --snip-- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a statewide drought in May after the state recorded two years of below-average rainfall, a sharp reduction in Sierra Nevada snowpack and its driest spring on record. Late last month, state water officials warned local agencies that their water deliveries could be cut by as much as 85 percent next year. The drought has drained many reservoirs, left lawns and...

Have you ever noticed that herds of grazing animals all face the same way?Images from Google Earth have confirmed that cattle tend to align their bodies in a north-south direction. Wild deer also display this behaviour - a phenomenon that has apparently gone unnoticed by herdsmen and hunters for thousands of years.

Drought closes world's biggest cattle ranch in Australia By Nick Squires in Sydney Last Updated: 2:25PM BST 10/06/2008 The world's largest cattle ranch has been forced to sell off its livestock and mothball operations because of the severe drought gripping much of Australia. Drovers muster cattle at Anna Creek Station, South Australia. CHRIS MCLENNAN Anna Creek station, which is bigger than Israel, encompasses 9,267 square miles of scrub, sand dunes and savannah in the Outback of South Australia. It is normally capable of supporting 16,000 cattle but the "Big Dry" – the worst drought in a century – has exhausted...

REGINA -- A macabre mystery that pops up around the world has surfaced once again on a secluded Saskatchewan farm. The most recent case of cattle mutilation occurred in the Stockholm area, just yards away from where Heather Harris and her husband slept. Harris was out tending the cattle the next day when she made the grisly discovery. "It's hard to describe what she looked like ...," Harris said, recalling finding the cow's corpse. "I told my husband, 'You don't even want to see this.' " The pregnant cow was missing its rectum, female organs, udder, navel, top and bottom...

Estonian authorities have slapped a flatulence tax on farmers to compensate the country for the methane gas produced by cows. Farmers this week received their first 'fart tax' demands asking them to pay for the greenhouse gases their cattle produce.

April 4, 2008, 11:08PM Dueling demands for corn Cattle feeders say the growing need for it in ethanol is driving up the price and threatening their livelihood By BRETT CLANTON Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle TULIA — Ask John Van Pelt his thoughts on ethanol, and he's likely to pull out his adding machine and let the numbers speak for themselves. Van Pelt, the manager of a cattle feedlot in this town 50 miles south of Amarillo, is now paying $215 a ton for cattle feed — double what he spent just three years ago. With 20,000 cattle in his yard,...

Ever seen a cattle feedlot up close? Most are mud/manure filled lots with your next hamburger walking in them. The cattle are fed a mixture of things to 'fill them up'. Most have 7-way vaccinations, antibiotics,wormers and hormone treatments. Have I turned you off yet? Don't despair, grass fed beef raised on pastures and hay are making a comeback. As are the cowboys needed to raise them.

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenyan elders may impose a fine on U.S. presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton, payable in livestock, after a photo of her rival Barack Obama in robes dragged their people into the race for the White House. The picture, which appeared on a U.S. Web site, showed the Illinois senator in a white headdress and traditional Somali attire during a 2006 visit to Wajir in Kenya's remote northeast. Obama has battled a whispering campaign by fringe elements who wrongly say he is Muslim and his aides accused Clinton's campaign of "the most shameful, offensive fear-mongering" after the photograph was...

Warning graphic pictures of animals killed by wolves. Here is the truth with what living with wolves is really like. If you have a weak stomach don't view some very brutal pictures.

WINNIPEG, Canada – Like many Americans, I grew weary of the city life some time ago. I lost my taste for being a number. I don't want to be "controlled" by government. I don't relish being herded like cattle. I want to breathe clean air, shoot my guns when I feel like it and take care of myself and my family.

Last Updated: Sunday, 13 January 2008, 10:11 GMT Chrysler's stampede into Motown By Jorn Madslien Business reporter, BBC News, Detroit auto show Farmers have been driving into Detroit for the cattle race The American car maker Chrysler plans to drive a herd of cattle through the centre of Detroit on Sunday to launch its new Dodge Ram pickup truck. But the truck, which goes on show at the Detroit auto show, is likely to face stiff competition in a shrinking market, analysts said. Pickup truck sales, perhaps more than other car models, are suffering from the rising price of oil....

Government meddling threatens cattle industry’s futureBy John Queen Once upon a time, the 2007 Farm Bill was going to be about free-market reforms that would reward the innovative, entrepreneurial spirit of our nation’s farmers and ranchers. Time and again, we heard top officials in Washington, D.C., talking of the need to loosen government’s grip on American agriculture. As a National Cattlemen’s Beef Association member, this was music to my ears. NCBA embraces the philosophy of less government control and interference in our industry. But now the heavy hand of government threatens to make this farm bill a disaster for cattlemen....

PRAY - For rancher Randy Petrich, the removal of gray wolves from the endangered-species list - a move that would open up the animals to hunting in the Northern Rockies for the first time in decades - couldn't come soon enough. Petrich has seen fresh wolf tracks almost every morning this fall - close enough to threaten his cattle. "I believe that any wolf on any given night, if there happens to be a calf there, they will kill it," ... Just 12 years since the wolves were reintroduced into Yellowstone National Park ... federal officials say the sharp rise...

WHITEFISH, Mont. — William P. Foley II pointed to the mountain. Owns it, mostly. A timber company began logging in view of his front yard a few years back. He thought they were cutting too much, so he bought the land. Mr. Foley belongs to a new wave of investors and landowners across the West who are snapping up open spaces as private playgrounds on the borders of national parks and national forests. In style and temperament, this new money differs greatly from the Western land barons of old — the timber magnates, copper kings and cattlemen who created the...

The Michigan Department of Agriculture inspectors were back at Greg Niewendorp’s Michigan farm this morning to gauge the results of their test for bovine tuberculosis administered Monday, and he says they found two cattle that had positive responses.

The Michigan Department of Agriculture at long last force-tested and tagged Greg Niewendorp’s twenty head of cattle today. About twenty supporters and six media representatives were in attendance, Charlevoix County Sheriff George Lasater told me late this afternoon.