Corporal Owen Third worked at the RCMP for 18 years before taking on the role of livestock investigator, a role new to the RCMP.
With two in Alberta and one in British Columbia, he says it was time Saskatchewan had one, as well.
“When I started at the beginning of October, it was number one, getting to know people in the industry,” Third says.
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“I like getting out there and talking to people.”
Third has a variety of jobs as a livestock investigator — predominantly, working on files regarding missing or stolen livestock across the province. However, this new into his role, he says another important part of the job is education, for both producers and members of the RCMP.
For producers, Third’s primary goal is to bridge any gap between officers and ranchers, as well as to ensure producers know he is around as a resource.
For members of the RCMP, he is focused on educating them to know what to look for when it comes to cattle.
“We try to familiarize them with what to look for, how to read brands, making sure manifests are completed properly,” he says. “A number of missing livestock are being transported down the highway so it’s one of the things I’m trying to work on with our members.”
Third also says he is working on educating crown prosecutors to ensure crimes of this nature see the appropriate type of justice, as he says courts in Saskatchewan often aren’t familiar with issues related to livestock.
Although Third is the only person in this role in the entirety of Saskatchewan, Jason Pollock, CEO of the Livestock Services of Saskatchewan, says he already sees an improvement by having Third in this position.
“I think the number one improvement has been the response time of detachments and the ability for him to take a file that starts maybe in Carlyle and touches into Moosomin or Weyburn and all the different detachments, and he’s able to stick handle it through the RCMP system because he’s on the inside,” Pollock says. “LSS has never been able to do that.
“That’s probably the biggest thing for Owen, he’s been a great asset in that respect. We’ve worked with various members of the RCMP over the years but we’ve never had a dedicated resource and that’s kind of a big difference.”
Pollock believes having a livestock investigator dedicated to these issues in Saskatchewan will act as a deterrent, as well.
“Policing in this province is a challenge because of the large geographic area. But if there’s a presence it’s going to reduce the number of people that think there’s an opportunity.”
Going forward, Third wants to make sure his contact information is being handed out to as many producers as possible to make sure he can be used as a resource.
“I want to make sure that I’m here for producers to help them. Hopefully, the more that people know about me, that I’m out there, hopefully, the more calls I can get,” Third says.
