By Zeke MacCormack
Five suspects from the Hill Country have been charged with stealing 6,000 lambs worth $1 million from a feed lot in Gillespie County over several months in 2010.
Max Hartmann, special ranger for the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, said the theft investigation began in January.
He said none of the lambs, which the suspects allegedly sold, has been recovered.
The suspects, who are from Burnet and Blanco counties, were arrested Aug. 17 and Aug. 19 . They are being held in the Gillespie County Jail under bonds ranging from $200,000 to $750,000.
Carmen Fenton, spokeswoman for the association, formed in 1877 to stop rustlers, said, “The lamb case is kind of unusual, but cattle rustling is still common.
In 2010, 7,700 head of cattle were reported missing or stolen in Texas, she said. In the three years before that the numbers were 7,400, 6,400 2,400 respectively, she said.