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A maverick is an animal, usually a form of cattle, that does not carry a brand. It is a word also used to describe a person who acts free from constraints or organizational guidelines.
NPR, '' Morning Edition'', September 5, 2008 Other analogous U.S. terms include ''slick'', ''hairy dick'', and, in Spanish-speaking areas of the Southwest, ''orejano''. In other parts of the world different terms are used. In Australia and New Zealand, for example, an unbranded animal is a ''cleanskin''.
A maverick is an animal, usually a form of cattle, that does not carry a brand. It is a word also used to describe a person who acts free from constraints or organizational guidelines.
Etymology
The term ''maverick'' derives from Samuel Maverick, a rancher who among other claims to fame was notorious for not branding his cattle."Original 'Maverick' Was Unconventional Cattleman"NPR, '' Morning Edition'', September 5, 2008 Other analogous U.S. terms include ''slick'', ''hairy dick'', and, in Spanish-speaking areas of the Southwest, ''orejano''. In other parts of the world different terms are used. In Australia and New Zealand, for example, an unbranded animal is a ''cleanskin''.
History
American Old West
In the era ofAmerican Old West
The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...
cattle were grazed on open range
In the Western United States and Canada, open range is rangeland where cattle roam freely regardless of land ownership. Where there are "open range" laws, those wanting to keep animals off their property must erect a fence to keep animals out; th ...
. Cows would thus give birth in wild or semi-wild conditions. Occasionally calves would fail to be collected in the annual round up and escape branding
Branding may refer to:
Physical markings
* Making a mark, typically by charring:
** Wood branding, permanently marking, by way of heat, typically of wood (also applied to plastic, cork, leather, etc.)
** Livestock branding, the marking of animals ...
. More rarely, these would grow into mature animals. As such, they could be captured, claimed, and branded by any rancher capable of doing so.
The US today
Some animals are left unbranded today for reasons that include being destined for the show ring, to avoid a scar on a hide intended for leatherworking, and opposition to its overt cruelty. These animals, however, are not left free ofidentification
Identification or identify may refer to:
*Identity document, any document used to verify a person's identity
Arts, entertainment and media
* ''Identify'' (album) by Got7, 2014
* "Identify" (song), by Natalie Imbruglia, 1999
* Identification ( ...
, receiving instead some form of somewhat more humane methods, which include freeze branding, tattooing, the forcible attachment of penetrating ear tags, and microchip implanting, usually in the neck.
As a result of this variety of methods, and the reality that most cattle today are run on private ranches, an unidentified mature animal is rarely found today. When one is, the most common practice is to make a concerted effort to locate a possible owner; failing that, the animal is typically put up for public auction
In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...
at a sheriff's sale, with the proceeds used to defray costs incurred in its handling.
References
{{Reflist Cattle