Livestock and farm machinery theft is on the rise but a new initiative launched by the NFU and Lancashire Constabulary aims to make the county a no-go area for thieves.
Many supposed small scale crimes from farms, where the odd piece of machinery is stolen, often goes unreported by farmers and the police want this to change so that they are able to build up a comprehensive picture of rural crime in the county. This, they hope, will uncover the true scale of the problem, which in turn may attract more police resource. They also want farmers to be their eyes and ears in the fields, exchanging information with each other on social media sites.
Farmers, who add their names to a new database, will take part in this activity and have also agreed to accompany the police at crime scenes where a livestock ‘expert’ is essential. As part of this new alliance between the farmers and police, for many months now, Lancashire police officers who voluntarily take on extra wildlife duties as part of their roles have been given a crash course in handling sheep by Lancaster based hill farmer John Taylor – just in case they find themselves having to move sheep to a safe location without any help.
John Taylor, who is also the NFU’s Lancashire County Chairman said: “Previous to the database being set up a police officer stopping a livestock wagon full of sheep would be more interested in the vehicle’s lights and brakes than the stock because it is more familiar ground. Now it’s different. If the officer suspects something fishy regarding the livestock being moved, via the database they can request for a farmer to accompany them under the jurisdiction of the police. The police officer is much better off now with the assistance of a hands-on expert in the form of a farmer and access to animal movement paperwork via the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA).”
Mr Taylor and the police have also worked together on creating evidence tags for sheep which are suspected to be stolen.
John added: “If it was a tractor that had been stolen, it would be locked away with a serial number. You cannot do that with livestock which is why we have created these evidence tags.”
The NFU Mutual estimates that more than 90,000 sheep, cattle and pigs could have been stolen in the UK during 2013 and that in total rustling could have cost UK farmers over £6.5 million. In Lancashire, the cost of rural theft rose 38% to an estimated £1.8 million raising it to the fifth worst hit county in the UK.
Tim Price, Rural Affairs Specialist at NFU Mutual, said: “We’re delighted to see this initiative starting up with the strong support it’s already getting. NFU Mutual will be playing a key role in administering the initiative through our local office network and our regional office in Chester.
“We very much hope this database idea will be rolled out soon across the country. This will send a clear message to thieves that stealing livestock is not a crime that is unlikely to be traced and we’ll see insurance claims falling as we have with machinery in areas with strong farm watch groups.”
Support has also been sought from the auction marts to tie up a loophole in the system with regards livestock being sent to slaughterhouses. If a police officer suspects that sheep have been stolen, the last place they should end up is a slaughterhouse, so the police have asked the auction marts (as they have adequate facilities) to house the animals for a short period of time while investigations are conducted.
Annis Schofield of Brookside Cottage in Tosside is an auctioneer at Gisburn Auction Mart and attended the inaugural meeting for farmers and police officers interested in the database. She is also a Young Farmers Club (YFC) member who has already worked with the police via social media to track down stolen farm machinery.
“D&D Wallbank Agricultural Contractors had a trailer stolen at 6.30am in the morning. Details asking for information about the crime and the trailer’s whereabouts were instantly posted onto the YFC Facebook pages of clubs such as Slaidburn, Clitheroe, Pendle and Bolton-by-Bowland,” explained Annis.
“The information was reposted approximately 200 times and by the afternoon progress was made and the stolen goods traced. If farmers are given all the relevant information about a crime, we can get the word out quickly and assist the police.”
Speaking at the first meeting of database members, Inspector Paul Goodall who has responsibility for rural and wildlife crime in Pendle Borough and the Ribble Valley said: “What I would ask is that the rural communities in Lancashire have faith and report anything that appears suspicious. That one piece of information may be crucial to us in putting the jigsaw together and catching the offender. If your instincts are saying “it’s not right”, then go with your instincts. Report it and let us make the decision about what to do with that piece of information.”
