Branding Irons Fade as U.S. Pushes National Livestock Tracking
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Arizona rancher Jay Platt says when 200 of his calves were stolen by rustlers, the brand on their flanks helped Texas Rangers track them down two states away.
The third-generation rancher says the hot-iron brand -- an inverted V flanked by a diagonal line -- meets his needs better than a proposed national animal-identification system. The U.S. says a program using ear tags is essential to protect herds from disease, maintain confidence food is safe and avert bans by other nations on U.S. meat exports.