Mary S. Nash
104 S. Houston Street
Kaufman , Texas   75142
NashHulme@msn.com
972-962-7706
April 25, 2003

Mr. Todd McCartney
Mr. Larry Gray
Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Assoc.  CERTIFIED MAIL, RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED
1301 W. Seventh Street
Fort Worth , Texas   76102

Re:  Report of stolen horses recovered at Beltex and Dallas Crown over last 6 years

Dear Messrs. McCartney and Gray:  

This is a follow up to our earlier email correspondence wherein I asked for statistics on numbers of horses reported stolen to TSCRA and numbers of stolen horses recovered at Beltex and Dallas Crown since 9/1/97 through the efforts of TSCRA and its two brand inspectors at the horse slaughter plants.  

You sent me an email message on April 14, 11 days ago, which said, “Our Executive Vice President and the Association's attorney are both reviewing this matter and we will be back in touch.”  

I am most anxious to hear from you, especially since on April 23, on the floor of the Texas House of Representatives both Rep. Betty Brown of Terrell and Rep. Charlie Howard of Sugarland praised the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association for its work in recovering stolen horses at the two Texas slaughter plants.  Rep. Howard even mentioned that he had been a sponsor of the 1997 bill (HB 2396) that mandated $3 per slaughtered horse go to the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association for its program to recover stolen horses.  The bill also mandated that $2 per slaughtered horse go to the Texas Agricultural Extension Service for a program to teach horse owners how to keep better tabs on their horses.  A copy of the bill analysis for the 1997 legislation is enclosed for your reference.  

Below are the questions I posed to you in my email message of April 13.   

1.      How are the two brand inspectors at Dallas Crown and Beltex paid?
Are they paid by TSCRA?  Are they paid by the hour, or are they paid by the number of horses they inspect?  If they are paid by TSCRA, what is the revenue source that funds their salaries?  Is money collected from the plants for each horse, and is that money turned over to TSCRA?  How much money is collected for each horse?  How does TSCRA determine what salary level is appropriate for the two brand inspectors?

2.      What is the policy guideline for determining which stolen horses will be listed in the documents you “fax[ed] to TSCRA market inspectors who are stationed at the two horse slaughter plants in Texas .”  I understand from a friend who worked as a brand inspector in the past that he received an updated list each week from TSCRA showing the stolen horses he was to look for.  Is the list cumulative from the beginning of when you began collecting stolen horse data?  Or do horses “fall off” the list after a certain period of time.  What is that period of time?  

3.      For each horse that has been recovered by brand inspectors at Dallas Crown and Beltex, as a result of being identified from the stolen horse list furnished by TSCRA, I would like documentation showing  (a) Date of recovery (b) Description of horse, and (c) Owner’s name and address.

4.      § 148.003 of the Texas Agriculture Code, “Slaughter of Unbranded or Unmarked Livestock; Slaughter Without Bill of Sale” reads, “(a) A slaughterer may not purchase or slaughter for market livestock that is unmarked or unbranded.”

What happens to the horses at Beltex and Dallas Crown that are received with no branding or marking? How many horses have been received with no branding or marking?  Where is the documentation showing where these horses go after they leave Beltex and Dallas Crown? Who takes responsibility for making sure Ag Code § 148.003 is enforced and followed?  Is this part of the charge of the TSCRA and the two brand inspectors?

  Below is a chart to help you provide some of the information I need. 

 I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Sincerely,

Mary S. Nash
Encl.  

cc:        Representative Betty Brown
            Representative Charlie Howard