The 11 pedigree rams that were reported stolen near Cootehill, Co. Cavan last week have been located in Oram, Co. Monaghan.

The owner of the rams, farmer Frank McGovern told Northern Sound that "they were in the field belonging to a totally innocent farmer".

Details of the missing rams had been shared on social media.

McGovern said: "Obviously someone had passed the information on to a person who had seen the social media post.

"We went over on Saturday and I was amazed, there they were" McGovern said.

The theft had taken place in the Tullyvin area. The rams had consisted of "six Charollais, four Texal, and one Lleyn" according to a Garda spokesperson.

Although the rams were located Frank McGovern is staying vigilant when it comes to the theft of livestock: "It's still an ongoing occurence".

In relation to the theft of his rams he said: "This was a two person job, there was someone from this end with local knowledge that knew the rams were there and there had to be someone from the other end to find a field to put them in."

Gardaí have confirmed that their inquiries are ongoing regarding the theft of the pedigree rams.

Recent thefts

This is unfortunately just the latest in a series of thefts where livestock have been stolen from farms both north and south.

The Police Service Northern Ireland (PSNI) confirmed earlier this week that they are investigating the suspected theft of cattle from a field in the south Co. Armagh area.

PSNI have appealed for information to assist this investigation.

The 47 cattle were reportedly last seen in a field on the Macullagh Road, Newtownhamilton between 6:00p.m and 8:00p.m on Friday, May 23.

The farmer found that his herd were missing on Monday, May 25, according to PSNI.

Police noted that the cattle were a mix of colours and all had identification tags.