A Sinn Féin councillor has called for cross-border operation to tackle a recent spate of ‘sheep rustling’ in the Omeath area of Co. Louth.
Louth county councillor, Antóin Watters said: “A number of farmers have noticed some of their sheep livestock missing from the Omeath area.
The missing sheep came to light as farmers were taking their stock down from the mountain to mate with the rams.
“I have been calling for the installation of barriers on the Turf Road in Omeath as it is a popular dumping area and easily accessed by large vehicles and I, along with several farmers, believe this road may have been used for the more sinister move of sheep rustling.”
Following contact from a number of farmers, Councillor Watters believes the number of sheep that are unaccounted for could be well over 60 and “that equates to thousands of lost revenue for these farmers at a time when they can ill afford it”.
Gardaí notified of sheep rustling
Councillor Watters said that he has notified gardaí and described the situation as “a huge blow to farmers”.
“Farmers cannot combat this alone and I am supporting previous calls by the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA), that there be greater cooperation north and south.
“We also need to look at the whole tagging of sheep.
“It is too easy to remove a tag and replace it with a different ‘flock number’. Tags consist of a ‘flock number’ and a sequential number and they are treated as ‘groupage’,” he added.
“Cows are treated more efficiently as they each have a passport type card which records their sex, breed, age and unique number all recorded on a database. We need to have something similar for sheep if we are to get serious about tackling this issue.”
The Sinn Féin councillor said that he has asked Louth County Council again to place barriers on the road close to where he said the sheep rustling took place.
“I am asking anyone if they have seen a large vehicle, possibly a jeep and trailer around that area late at night or early in the morning, to please contact gardaí. Due to the nature of the crime, it is hard to pinpoint an exact date when it could have happened but I am encouraging everyone to be more vigilant,” he said.