Over 200% increase in stolen cattle in 2022

Renewed focus on rural crime

A farmer wouldn’t have worried about that as much before as they do now.

The number of cattle reported stolen increased by over 200% in 2022 compared to 2021, according to official figures obtained by the Irish Examiner.

According to the Department of Agriculture, 120 cattle were reported stolen in 2022 while 1,362 were reported missing, the figures show, and in 2021, 39 were reported as stolen, and 1,077 reported as missing.

In 2020, there had been 98 cattle reported stolen, while 1,058 were reported missing.

Limerick was the county with the highest numbers reported last year, with 64 bovines recorded as stolen and 245 recorded missing.

It's a trend already continuing into 2023, with five cattle already reported stolen in January, and 131 reported missing. 

Irish Farmers’ Association deputy president Brian Rushe said that the levels of cattle thefts are causing increased concern among farmers.

“A farmer wouldn’t have worried about that as much before as they do now,” he said.

He added that the IFA is working closely with the Gardaí, who are “doing everything they can” to try and prevent these crimes from occurring but said that resourcing was a significant challenge.

“The level of resourcing in rural areas isn’t what we’d like it to be, and that isn’t a fault of the Gardaí, it’s a general resourcing issue," Mr Rushe said.

“The biggest single deterrent that we find in terms of rural crime is visibility - Garda visibility.

"We would have seen it during Covid when there were a lot of Gardaí around, and we were all at home, there was a drop off in rural crime because people saw the visual deterrent was there.

“But now their resources are stretched with things back to normal, they’re not as visible, again, it’s no fault of theirs, they have a job to do and they’re very busy.

“There’s the need to resource rural areas adequately.” 

Crime Prevention Officer for Laois and Offaly, Sergeant Graham Kavanagh, has urged farmers to be vigilant, and secure their properties as best they can.

He said that the simple act of closing and locking gates, for example, would restrict access to vehicles, "so that they can't just drive into a yard at any time of the night" on a farm.

The Rural Safety Plan 2022-2024 launched last year, seeks to enhance security in rural areas and enforce the importance that is placed on the welfare of rural Irish communities.

It identified burglary and theft as one of its five main priorities in relation to rural safety. Others include community safety; roads policing; animal crime; and heritage crime.