A man in Co. Donegal was charged with multiple counts of stealing sheep this week.
Gardai in the Milford District of Donegal have been working closely with the farming community recently due to concerns of sheep theft in the Milford Garda District.
Due to this, a man was charged with 35 counts of handling stolen livestock on Wednesday (September 5) and appeared at Letterkenny District Court yesterday, Gardai said in a statement.
Gardai were assisted by the Department of Agriculture in their investigation, and also expressed gratitude to the local farming community for their assistance in the investigation.
- Thieves need a working knowledge of livestock;
- Not every criminal can steal livestock;
- They need a market and they need to be familiar with the area;
- A criminal involved in livestock theft will have visited a number of times before they strike.
The police force also stressed the message to always report suspicious activity to your local Gardai.
Offaly dog attack
Meanwhile, yesterday a warning was issued to dog owners following a dog attack in the midlands that resulted in the deaths of sheep.
Gardai attended an incident at Shannon Harbour, Birr on Wednesday morning, in which a dog was allegedly shot after the owner of the sheep discovered his sheep injured and two dead.
Gardai requested the assistance of the dog warden, and investigations are ongoing, a Garda representative confirmed.
Speaking on local radio station Midlands 103 on the issue, crime prevention officer for Laois and Offaly, Sergeant Graham Kavanagh urged dog owners to keep their pets under control.
You need to take control of your dog; you need to ensure that they cannot escape outside your property.
“Just leaving your dogs to roam around without any proper effective control on them will probably mean your dogs will roam – and they will attack animals,” the sergeant added.