SAN PATRICIO COUNTY, Texas — San Patricio County is joining forces with Jim Wells, Bee and Refugio counties in a new program to identify loose animals. It's called the Hoof Patrol Program.
The goal is to help ranchers when their animals escape from their pens.
"People welfare is the most important, but if you're a producer, your animal welfare is important as well," said Bobby McCool of Texas A&M AgriLife Extension.
In San Patricio County, the sheriff's department is helping keep animals and farm equipment easily identifiable by placing placards that look like license plates on land owners' fences.
"It's a program that helps us both," Sheriff Oscar Rivera said. "Us to locate the animal owners, and them to locate their animals and get them back to their pastures."
The free program is now available and will give each rancher an identification number so when farm animals are found on the loose, deputies will know who to call.
"This way the deputy will be at the scene, he can see that there's a placard by the fence, and know who to call and make these phone calls to get these animals back in," Rivera said.
Aside from pets, any type of farm animal that makes its way into the roadways will be protected by first responders.
"Even behind really good fences, these issues happen," McCool said.
The Hoof Patrol Program hopes to keep roadways safe. The San Patricio County Sheriff's Department said it's a major loss to ranchers who lose their cattle in an incident after having spent anywhere from $2,000 to $15,000 per cow or breeding bull.
"Finding who the owner is is the problem. That's the reason that we feel this program would benefit both the producer and law enforcement agency that are often called to these situations," McCool said.
To register for the program, all you have to do is stop by the San Patricio County Sheriff's Department and ask to be a member.
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