MALTB Recovers Stolen Cattle and Agricultural Equipment

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  MALTB successfully recovered beef cattle stolen from a farm in Claiborne County.

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  MALTB successfully recovered beef cattle stolen from a farm in Claiborne County.

 

This week, the Mississippi Agriculture and Livestock Theft Bureau (MALTB) successfully recovered beef cattle and a trailer stolen from a farm in Claiborne County.

On March 17, 2026, the Claiborne County Sheriff’s Department received a report from a farmer of stolen cattle and a 24-foot cattle trailer. On this same date, a MALTB investigator was contacted by both the affected cattle farmer and another concerned farmer. In conjunction with agents from the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry, the MALTB started an investigation into livestock theft and grand larceny of a cattle trailer.

 

 

Through the joint efforts of these agencies, the cattle were located and recovered in Louisiana on March 17, 2026. The following day, March 18, MALTB investigators recovered the stolen cattle trailer in Copiah County, where it had been left on a landowner’s property without permission.

This remains an active and ongoing investigation, so names are being withheld at this time. MALTB Director Dean Barnard commended all his investigators, along with the Claiborne County Sheriff’s Office, Tangipahoa Parish Louisiana Sheriff’s Office, and the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry, for their assistance and continued efforts with this investigation. Barnard emphasized that law enforcement teamwork is critical in theft cases, particularly those involving multiple agencies and incidents that cross state lines.

The MALTB, the law enforcement division of the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce, enforces state laws pertaining to the theft of cattle, horses, swine, poultry, fish, farm equipment, chemicals, timber and all other farm or agriculture-related crimes. Visit http://msagtheft.org/ to learn more.