Saskatchewan couple charged with trafficking stolen cattle

A five-month-long investigation has resulted in charges of theft and trafficking stolen cattle against two ranchers from the rural municipality of Prairie Rose.

The Lanigan RCMP said Thursday a 59-year-old man and a 59-year-old woman — both from Caprina Farms and Ranching — were charged after an investigation by officers from the Lanigan detachment, the Alberta RCMP Livestock Investigations Section and members of the Livestock Services of Saskatchewan.

A search of the ranch near Jansen in June led to what the Mounties called in a media release “a substantial recovery of Alberta and Saskatchewan cattle.” The RCMP alleges the couple trafficked a large number of animals.

Jansen is about 150 kilometres east of Saskatoon.

The woman faces five counts of theft of cattle, two counts of trafficking stolen cattle, and one count each of fraudulently marking cattle and causing animals to be in distress.

The man faces charges of theft of cattle, trafficking stolen cattle, fraudulently marking cattle and causing animals to be in distress.

The accused are scheduled to make their first court appearances in Humboldt on Aug. 24.

“We recognize the challenges that come with managing farming operations, it’s a big job. Having farmers and ranchers able to specifically identify that something was amiss with their herd or that animals were missing and then take time out of their day to report it, was key to this investigation,” Staff Sgt. Greg Abbott of the RCMP Central District Management Team said in the release.

“In this instance, it specifically resulted in linkages being made to other inter-provincial files and ultimately resulted in a much larger investigation and charges laid.”