Two South Dakota ranchers were just sentenced for starving cattle and illegally branding and selling animals they didn’t own.

Video showed cows so emaciated their bones were visible. Some couldn’t walk. At least three died after being seized. Yet despite these convictions, the defendants—Leland Pauly and Lynda Frost—will be allowed to own cattle again in just one year.

That’s not justice. That’s a loophole.

We’re calling on the South Dakota Legislature to pass a law banning individuals like Leland Pauly and Lynda Frost - convicted of animal abuse, neglect, or livestock fraud - from owning or managing livestock for life.

Ranching isn’t just business—it’s stewardship. When someone abuses that trust by letting animals suffer or falsifying ownership to sell them for profit, they should lose the right to do it again.

This isn’t about one case. It’s about preventing the next one.