drexal
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There might be an unlikely ally in protecting the landscape against feral cattle. How does feral cow flatulence compare to domesticated? 
Feral Cattle in AZ and NM...removal
- Thread starter mrcowboy
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Hilljackoutlaw
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I swear some of these can levitate at times. Seen them fly across a canyon....lol Seriously they can compete with elk at times. But they will also turn on you. For sure.There might be an unlikely ally in protecting the landscape against feral cattle. How does feral cow flatulence compare to domesticated?
Keeping cattle or (yuk,sheep) on FS lands has always been problematic. Fences down,gates open,gates shut.
Trying to get NM cowpokes to show it seems has also been a problem. Too busy eating or racing up and down their own lands. Naps,that's it. Manana.
mrcowboy
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Gates between allotments can be a big problem. Spoke with a rancher during my deer hunt this past fall and he was pretty disgusted that the hunters couldn't take a few extra moments to get off their UTV or get out of their truck to shut the gate after they had opened it. He said he wasted a lot of time chasing down animals that went through the open gates on to lands where they shouldn't be. He said that during the fall he spends all weekend driving around to make certain gates are closed. If the sign says close the gate, close the gate.
It’s a common thing to hear but is it always accurate? There are tons of allotment fences in the forest around me and I guarantee they aren’t checked in there entirety every year as I routinely will find a chunk that’s in terrible shape and cow pies where I know they shouldn’t be. I talk to one of the range riders fairly often and he is constantly out on horseback looking for strays
S-3 Ranch
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As a rancher and wildlife management specialist I understand the gate thing intimately!!
its federal and state land that should be open range with zero fence
the fence cause a bearer to migration, in New Mexico during drought
many problems are Caused by fence blocking and killing pronghorn,
only 3 strand fence is suitable for wildlife migrating .
plus once fenced most cattle leasers have A false sense of ownership
and usually interfere with hunters for reason only they try to justify
BenInMT
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They hunt feral cattle in Hawaii for sport and food. This seems like a job that hunters would be willing to do for free.
PrairieHunter
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Hmm, I wonder how much the bill will be for this little fiasco.
S-3 Ranch
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Helo time is $675 per blade hour, then shooter time or wranglers on 4x4 ATV to push in to holding pens
so add government over time = expensive
this is why the BLM ranchers don’t want to collect their own cattle
cheaper to sit on hands and debate how to solve the problem
mrcowboy
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there may. Need a rancher to answer that one. Spoke with a rancher who ran a small group of cattle on the Caja del Rio in Sf NF and he said every winter he would always find other cattle in the winter with his group. Some branded and some not. He seemed irked about it since he was paying the lease. not certain how much the fees for grazing are in that allotment.
mrcowboy
Well-known member
Agreed. I spend good chunk of time in Gila Apache NF and some fences look like they haven't been tended for years. Lots or reasons for fences to be down. Good wind storm and trees falling can do it. Big herds of elk. Ass hats cutting fences so they can get their UTVs thru to shed hunt. To list a few. I have fencing on ~20 acres. Tiny allotment. I can't imagine tending to 1000s of acres of fence. Although i'm new to fencing and I still think it's weird that I have to put up fence to keep the cattle off my propery that sits along BLM. Should I ask my rancher neighbor to reimburse me for the cost of t posts and stays? I think I know his response. LOL. My dogs may like the cow pies though.
rustednuts
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Where is staysharp when you need him?
magnum44270
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I have friends in AZ who do this for a living .
CowboyLeroy
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As a cow man and a hunter I see both sides. I can remember a few years ago watching guides kick the wire out of the posts so they could drive through and then saying "The rancher can fix it in the spring"
Also there is a penalty for loose cattle.
"Reckless possession of livestock"
I shit you not.
Also there is a penalty for loose cattle.
"Reckless possession of livestock"
I shit you not.
D
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Couple questions for @Europe and @Oak on AZ and CO respectively.
1. Can you shoot feral cattle, and or sheep legally? Like if you could know with 100% certainty it was feral can you actually shoot a cow or sheep in the field on public land? Is there a specific law barring it?
2. Can you shoot livestock on your land? I've watched ranchers shoot dogs, I've seen them point guns at folks. Seems strange to me, given those precedents that if someone's cow was eating your flowers you couldn't make some t-bones out of it.
1. Can you shoot feral cattle, and or sheep legally? Like if you could know with 100% certainty it was feral can you actually shoot a cow or sheep in the field on public land? Is there a specific law barring it?
2. Can you shoot livestock on your land? I've watched ranchers shoot dogs, I've seen them point guns at folks. Seems strange to me, given those precedents that if someone's cow was eating your flowers you couldn't make some t-bones out of it.
dirtclod Az.
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dirtclod Az.
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You tellm' sister!they can, but the difference in the Terrain between Texas and The Gila in New Mexico is the reason they are using, and the Terrain in the Gila is pretty rough in all honesty.
For the most part this is a 30 year old problem, possibly older. Many, I dare say, most of them at this point were born wild and therefore never branded--or owned. The branded ones that have joined them, can be traced to the owner via brand registrations and the owner ( if they are rounded up and not shot by a helicopter ) should be given the opportunity to collect his property. Lightning, other wildlife, can spook a herd thru a fence and they can scatter or other wildlife can also tear down a fence. There are several moving parts to this issue, but I want to go back to -----
Oak brings up an important point and hopefully these two groups will be able to stop this. Let the "local" people handle it, not the Feds. Both local and federal want the herds reduced, but they each propose a different way to solve the problem.
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Some here have teased me via PM that I want to kill the cows but save the horses : My short answer: I am female, I understand completely my reasoning, what part dont you understand
lpcoutdoors
Active member
Seems like there could be a provision for situations like these, where the cattle were considered legally abandoned by a certain date and thus could be rounded up and sold by whoever is willing to risk it. When I was a young cowboy is sure would have and I bet my cousins' cowboying kids and their friends would now! Would cost taxpayers a dime and be a great adventure, with historical precedent. And though that country is rough and the cattle wild, so is West Texas, so I think these boys could knock a dent in the problem anyway.
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