Manitoba will fund a police investigator dedicated to livestock theft and fraud, Justice Minister Matt Wiebe and Agriculture Minister Ron Kostyshyn announced on 8 October. The officer will sit in the RCMP's General Investigative Section and also support a planned provincial livestock inspection initiative modelled on those in Saskatchewan and Alberta.
High cattle prices are the reason producers pushed for it. Kostyshyn, a former rancher, said a 500-pound calf now brings close to $3,000, roughly six times what he got when he was ranching, and animals on remote pastures can be loaded into a trailer and gone quickly. The risk is greatest for young producers who borrowed heavily to start. RCMP figures show 57 reported cases of cattle-related theft and fraud between 2021 and 2025.
Such cases also shake the confidence of lenders, investors and buyers in livestock deals, the ministers said. Arvid Nottveit, president of Manitoba Beef Producers (MBP), said theft and fraud hurt the sector "at a time when there are efforts to grow Manitoba's cattle herd".
Matthew Atkinson, a past MBP president and cattle producer from Neepawa, said past cases suffered from a shortage of officers with the time and knowledge for livestock files. He expects the new officer to be visible at auction marts, which may itself deter theft.
Inspection is the next step. Manitoba was the only Western province without a livestock inspection system; Kostyshyn said the legislation is in its final stages, and the officer will be in place "soon", without a firm date. Because many Manitoba cattle are processed in Brooks, Alberta, cooperation across provincial borders will matter.
Photo: USDAgov / Wikimedia Commons (CC0)
Source: Manitoba Co-operator (reporting by Miranda Leybourne)
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