A man has been charged in relation to the cattle theft that took place in Skibbereen, Co. Cork, in recent months.

The man, aged in his 30s, appeared before Macroom District Court today (December 10) at 10:30a.m.

Gardaí announced yesterday (December 9) that the man was arrested on suspicion of stealing 18 cattle from a farm in Skibbereen two months ago.

The arrest was made following a search operation on December 8 in the Ballydehob area of west Co. Cork, in which the missing cattle were found and returned to their 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.