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Nebraska brand law receives legal challenge

A group of Nebraska cattle feeders is challenging the state’s brand law, saying the evolution of the cattle industry has made the act ineffective and obsolete.

They’re asking a federal judge to rule the Nebraska Livestock Brand Act unconstitutional and prevent the state from enforcing it. They say it puts an excessive burden on commerce and violates the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution.

By law, state brand inspectors must check all cattle in the western two-thirds of Nebraska before they are transported or sold. The brand committee also does theft investigations.