For the second time in the last two years, farmer Tony Harrington has reported missing sheep on private land, on a mountain in Co. Waterford.
Harrington lost around 12 young cross-bred ewes a few weeks ago, and has searched “all around” his land on Barracree Mountain Upper. Similar ewes are pictured below.
The farmer said that it seems the sheep “have been driven off the land”, and that the same incident occurred on his land in 2022. At the time, a number of sheep were also taken.
“They would never cross the river on the land unless they had help, so it is not likely that they wandered off,” Harrington said.
The farmer said that the sheep are worth around €200/head or more, in line with current sheep trade.
“Aside from the money, it’s causing annoyance at this point and I’m trying to get to the bottom of it,” Harrington said.
Farmers have been asked to keep an eye on online sheep sales to ensure that the sheep are not being sold without the owner’s knowledge. Harrington has reported both incidences to An Garda Síochána, and investigations are ongoing.
Missing sheep
Furthermore, in the south-east of the country, another sheep farmer is also in a similar position, where around 24 of his ewes are missing from commonage on the Carlow/Wexford border.
The farmer has posted pictures and descriptions of the three- to four-year-old Cheviot ewes online and has warned farmers to watch out for the sale of the sheep.
He said that the sheep have an identifiable blue marking straight down their tail and have three-quarter length tails, which would be longer than most other sheep.
The farmer also said that his neighbour is missing four or five sheep as well, and said that he believes the sheep “may have been stolen”.