Thirty-seven cattle have been stolen in Co Monaghan to date this year, figures from the Department of Agriculture and the Gardaí show.

In January, 16 cattle were stolen from a farm near Castleblayney in the county while in April at least 21 cattle were stolen from a separate farm, also near Castleblayney.

Security

The crime prevention officer in Monaghan, Garda Michael Duffy, told the Irish Farmers Journal that investigations into both thefts are still ongoing and the gardaí are liaising with the PSNI on both matters.

“Farmers need to be security conscious. It’s about trying to make it difficult for people [to rob you],” he said.

Department of Agriculture figures show that to date this year, outside of the two thefts of cattle in Monaghan, 11 cattle have been stolen from five counties.

Stolen cattle

Since the start of the year, seven cattle have been stolen in Tipperary, two in Limerick, one in Kildare and one in Laois.

A Department of Agriculture spokesperson told the Irish Farmers Journal that the theft of livestock is a criminal offence and that all incidents of stolen animals should be reported to the gardaí by the farmer for investigation.

“Where an incident of cattle theft occurs, the owner/keeper of the stolen animals should also notify the appropriate Regional Veterinary Office (RVO) in writing, including details of animals stolen, date of theft and evidence that the incident has been reported to An Garda Síochána,” the spokesperson said.

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