UK ram-raiders flock to rustle sheep

Criminal gangs targeted manhole covers and copper wiring when rocketing Chinese demand rendered them valuable commodities. Now, they have a new target: sheep.

North Yorkshire has been hit by at least three large thefts in the Dales in recent weeks. In the past year, there have been eight cases of sheep rustling in the county and three of cattle theft, with goats, dogs, poultry and horses also being stolen, police say.

In the worst case, 271 sheep were taken from fields in Lancashire earlier this year.

The rise in rustling has been driven by the same kind of global trends that made mundane objects such as manhole covers lucrative criminal cargo when steel prices soared.

The weak pound means many sheep are being exported, while traditional sellers such as New Zealand are struggling with drought and sending what lambs they do have to newly wealthy Asia. This is helping push up prices at home.

In September, police s tepped up patrols in Cumbria after thefts in the fells around Ulverston and Windermere. Feeding troughs have also been stolen, possibly for use in fattening up the animals before selling them to backstreet butchers.

Police say the gangs may use sheepdogs and have trucks capable of carrying dozens of animals, making them resemble legitimate farmers.

PC Alison Taylor of Cumbria police said: “The area where these sheep have been stolen is isolated, fenced fell land which covers hundreds of acres, making them an easier target.”

Andrew Jones, MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, said 133 animals had been taken in four incidents in his constituency in the past few months. “People in our agricultural sector have very low incomes and it is hard that just as prices rise they become a target for thieves.”

The animals might be hard to sell because they are tagged to make them traceable from their field of origin, and police have asked the public not to buy meat of uncertain origin.

NFU Mutual, which insures two-thirds of farmers, said cases were at a 10-year high. NFU Mutual’s Tim Price said: “We have seen a resurgence. We have had dozens of claims this year after about half a dozen last year.”

He noted that some sheep had been butchered in fields, making the meat dangerous to eat.

“The thieves know the price of commodities very well,” he said. “When meat prices go up they take livestock. When scrap metal prices go up farm gates go missing.”