Gardaí announced today (December 9) that a man in his 30s has been arrested on suspicion of stealing 18 cattle from a farm in Skibbereen, Co. Cork two months ago.

In a statement, gardaí said that the suspect is currently being detained at a garda station in Cork under the provisions of Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984.

The arrest was made following a search operation yesterday (December 8) in the Ballydehob area of west Co. Cork, which found the missing cattle and returned them to the owner.

The search was carried out by gardaí from the Serious Crime Units in Clonakilty, Bandon, and Bantry, with support from the Divisional Search Team and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

Gardaí stated that "investigations and enquiries are ongoing at this time with the assistance of the Department of Agriculture."

Cattle theft

The cattle theft originally occurred at a farm in the Lakelands area of Skibbereen, Co. Cork overnight on Monday, November 24, with a total of 12 Friesian heifers and six Friesian bulls being stolen as a result.

Any persons, including road users who were travelling between the R637 road and the R593 road in the Lakelands, Skibbereen area overnight and who may have camera footage have been asked to make this available to investigating gardaí, who can be contacted at Skibbereen Garda Station on 028 23088.

This cattle theft follows several other incidents of cattle being stolen across Ireland in the last few months.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) reported that a number of cattle were stolen last month in the area of Tievenny Road, Victoria Bridge, Strabane in Co. Tyrone.

Additionally, gardaí in Monaghan appealed for information last month regarding a theft of cattle in the Castleblaney area, where a Limousin bull, along with four heavy in-calf heifers, two heavy in-calf cows, and one weanling heifer were suspected to have been taken.