Who is BUYING the rustled cows?
They are sold at the livestock auction for slaughter.
Brokers or they go up for auction in lots. But the issue is the brands are not being inspected as they should be before sale. And I am pretty sure it is Az law that you have to have your stock branded, even Burros if you have any. So the state is not requiring the brand inspection and recording as they are supposed to.
The article said that they were shipping them out of state.
I grew up with cattle but in Western Washington where most land parcels are small, herds of beef cattle are small, and the criminal element knows very little about cattle. Of course law enforcement typically knows nothing about cattle even in outlying areas.
We never branded any of our cattle and I knew very few people who did. In recent years I know some people who have had their cows electronically tagged in the same way that people have their dogs and cats tagged. This was more to help the authorities identify them if a couple of them ran off on their own after getting outside the fences and gates that were put there to hold them in.
It is a little different story in Eastern Washington where cattle roam on large parcels of land, they have large herds, and cattle are sold in larger numbers. The problem with disappearing cows is still more likely to involve unsavory individuals stealing a small number to eat themselves and not sell.
The branding laws this state were updated in 2019. The move was to electronic identification. It had more to do with disease control and the expense of maintaining the program than cattle rustling.
As a kid, I participated in feeding, herding, chasing and even turning plenty of young bulls into steers, but never applying a red hot brand to the hide of a cow or horse. It was bad enough crushing the vessels that went to the testicles of little bulls with a special tool. But holding cattle down while you burned their skin with a red hot piece of steel would not have been something that I would have wanted to participate in. I am glad that on our side of the mountains this was not considered necessary.