What happened to the 2,141 cattle, that were stolen and never recovered, remains unclear.

An Garda Síochána and the Department of Agriculture did not give a direct response to the Irish Farmers Journal when asked where they believed the cattle were going.

The gardaí said Operation Thor entailed a range of policing activities to tackle organised crime groups and other prolific offenders as well as working with communities to prevent rural crime.

A range of “partnership initiatives” had been established to combat livestock and farm theft.

The Department of Agriculture said all incidents of stolen livestock should be reported to the gardaí.