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Sheep rustlers target Inishowen
farms
20.04.11
by Linda McGrory
SHEEP rustling is on the rise in Inishowen with
livestock prices on the up and the recession
deepening.
Farmers have been warned of a sharp hike in
livestock thefts as rustlers resort to sheep raids
to make quick cash.
The warning comes as one farmer had nine yearling
ewes, worth €1,300, taken from a field in Dunree.
“Farmers are very worried, angry and frustrated
because there is very little they can do about it.
“Sheep have got very valuable because they are
scarcer, and farmers, who are giving them expensive
feedstuffs, just can’t afford to lose them.
“A substantial number of sheep have been lifted in
the last while. It would seem some people are
desperate for money and they’ll go to any length to
get it,” said a local farming source.
Gardai are investigating the recent theft in Dunree
that happened sometime between teatime on Wednesday,
April 14 and 2pm on April 16. |
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The incident has
particularly angered the farming community as the
animals were valuable, lowland breeders, grazing in
a field that was an apparently easy target. By
contrast, hill sheep, grazing on commonage, are both
harder to round up and much lower in value.
Another feature of the Dunree raid is that it
happened on a bright moonlit night.
“Whoever is doing this knows that a full moon will
help them because it’ll be nearly bright as day and
they won’t need flashlights,” added the source.
“There are probably several of them working a raid.
They will likely have a good sheepdog and a van or a
trailer.” The source added that there was currently
a “ready market for sheep” and that they were “easy
to sell”. He said ear tags were easily removed with
scissors or a knife while it was also easy to
camouflage the identification wool-mark.
The local source warned Inishowen farmers to be
“extra vigilant” to sheep and cattle rustling, and
he urged local Gardaí to include rural farmlands as
part of their nightly patrols. Anyone with
information or who has been offered sheep for sale
in suspicious circumstances to contact Gardai in
Buncrana on 93 20540. |
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