'It's a kick in the teeth' - 52 sheep stolen from farmer in Rosommon

A Co Sligo farmer has been left to count the cost after 52 of his sheep were stolen from rented ground in recent days.

The 31 lambs and 21 ewes were taken from rented land near Boyle, Co Roscommon, sometime in the last two weeks. It is alleged that local knowledge was used in the raid.

The sheep belonged to farmer Colin Barber, who raised the alarm when he became aware of the decreased numbers in the flock. The theft took place between 2 August and 9 August.

“I was drafting the lambs from the ewes in the shed when I realised that there was stock missing. It was only after counting them up I realised just how many were missing,” he said.

“You check them every day but it is difficult to count them unless they are in the yard. It was two weeks since they were last in, so it could have been anytime in the last two weeks this happened.”

The stolen lambs weighed between 35kg and 45kg and most were ready for slaughter. The scale of the theft has shocked Barber.

“I put a lot into my stock. I work hard on my livestock and this is the last thing I needed. It is a kick in the teeth. I’m gutted to be honest about it. I thought I was having a bad dream,” Barber said.

Barber told the Irish Farmers Journal marts and factories in the area have been notified about the theft and while he acknowledges the effort of the local gardaí in the matter, he admits having no expectation of the stock being returned.

Roscommon IFA chair John Hanley shared Barber’s outrage on the issue. Hanley said there needs to be a greater presence from the law on the ground to deter criminals.

“We need Gardaí to be more visible on the ground. We need increased numbers on the ground as proposed in the partnership for Government. We need to see this increased sooner rather than later to reduce this activity,” Hanley said.

Other incidences

This is not the only incident of rustling in the north Roscommon area. Similar theft has taken place in Elphin, where a small number of sheep were stolen, and three to five heifers were taken near the Roscommon-Sligo border in recent times.

With three incidents in close proximity, it is understood that local knowledge is being used to source and steal the livestock.