15,000 cattle 'missing' in NI in last 4 years, figures show

Figures show thousands of cattle have gone missing in Northern Ireland in the last 4 years
Figures show thousands of cattle have gone missing in Northern Ireland in the last 4 years

Almost 15,000 cattle have gone missing in Northern Ireland alone in the last 4 years, according to figures by the region's agriculture department.

The number was revealed in response to a written question from Ulster Unionist Agriculture (UUA) Rural Affairs spokesperson Rosemary Barton MLA.

She asked the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) minister Lesley Griffiths to detail how many cattle and sheep had been stolen or reported missing - broken down by constituency - in the last four years.

Figures show that 14,506 cattle had gone missing. County Armagh was the worst affected area with a total of 636 cattle recorded as missing or stolen last year, followed by Newry at 606.

DAERA said it took all instances of missing cattle 'very seriously' and investigated 'each incident individually'.

But Ms Barton said the figures were 'astonishing': “I was astounded when I received the figures that so many cattle had ‘disappeared’ from the department’s official cattle recording system APHIS.

“The system does not differentiate between the number of cattle recorded as stolen and those that have gone missing from the system."

Ms Barton said three Divisional Veterinary Centres - Newry, Armagh and Dungannon - accounted for 6,813 of the missing cattle alone.

“While I am certainly aware that a number of cattle are stolen each year, it would appear that many cattle are disappearing from the system, which may suggest that cattle are being sold, moved and slaughtered illegally," Ms Barton said.

“I intend to progress this query to try to establish what follow-up action DAERA takes in relation to these ‘disappeared’ animals.”

Under the Cattle Identification (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (NI) 2012, if an animal is lost or stolen, the keeper must send written notification of this to DAERA within seven days of becoming aware.

Farmers have also been urged to report every incident of suspected theft to the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI).

It follows the release of figures earlier this year which revealed that livestock worth £3 million were stolen from UK farms in 2019.