alteration of brand

Changing, defacing, or obliterating the brand on an animal, a criminal offense in states in the large cattle-raising areas of the country. 4 Am J2d Ani § 8. The statutory offense of changing the brand or mark on an animal to a different brand or mark from what it was before. It is held that altering is to be distinguished from "defacing," which is the obliteration of the mark or brand, and that putting an additional brand to the one already on the animal is an alteration, although the latter brand may not interfere with or change the figure of the first one. Linney v State, 6 Tex 1.