UNITED STATES-MASSIVE CATTLE THEFT.
- When you hear of this crime, you may think of an old western movie, but cattle rustling is happening in Central Florida . Expensive cows disappeared right off an Ocala farm.
For the last 25 years, Ronald Burton has made his living raising livestock.
"You actually inherit farming," he said. "It’s something that gets in your blood."
Burton had 17 head of cattle on a pasture he leased along US-27 near Ocala , but when he arrived to feed them Tuesday morning 11 of them were gone.
"I would call it cow rustling, you know? Back in the day, when you stole a horse you got hung! You know what I mean?" Burton said.
Among the missing animals are a bull and five pregnant cows. Burton also had a pen on the farm; he’d bring the cows into the area to feed them. But, in addition to stealing the cattle, the rustlers also took the fence.
"It definitely took some planning to do this," said Deputy C.J. Whiteside.
Deputy Whiteside believes it happened in the middle of the night and that the thieves must have loaded the cattle into a large trailer and hauled them away. The six cows they left behind were very shy when WFTV reporter Berndt Peterson tried to get close.
"They’re running away from me. Why didn’t they run away from the rustlers?" Peterson asked Burton .
Burton figures the thieves brought food, making it easy to round them up. The animals were worth at least $12,000, but for Burton he lost more than money. He says he cared about his cows and that’s what hurts the most.
"They didn’t ask to be here. I am their caretaker. I took pride in that," Burton said.
Sheriff’s detectives believe the thieves will try to sell the cattle, so they’ve notified livestock auctions in Ocala and surrounding counties to be on the lookout.