Rustling up cattle in East Clare

There were shades of illegal activities in the Wild West in East Clare this week as a farmer was hit by a cattle-rustling raid. The rustlers made off with 15 cows worth in the region of €30,000 and gardaí are warning the farming community to be wary of this crime and to be cautious of animals being offered for sale in unusual circumstances.

The 15 animals were of a Limousine cross breed and included 13 heavily in-calf cows and two yearling heifers. They were taken from a shed on a farm in Ballyquin, between O’Briensbridge and Broadford, some time after 6.30pm on Thursday, January 26, and Friday evening, January 27. 
Gardaí in Killaloe are investigating the theft, which they estimate to be worth approximately €30,000 to the farmer involved.
“Some of the cows, because of their breeding and because they are in-calf, could go for up to €2,000 individually and beef cattle are generally expensive now,” said Inspector John O’Sullivan of Killaloe Garda Station.
“We are appealing to the farming community to be aware that these animals are out there and that they may be offered animals in dubious circumstances,” he continued.
He said this type of incident is unusual in the Killaloe area but he it is not the first of its kind in recent times in the region.
“There have been incidents in surrounding counties and I am aware of one or two incidents in Limerick. It is difficult to investigate this type of crime. With beef animals we would generally surmise that they are headed to a slaughterhouse, but with these cows in calf, they are either going onto a farm or farms. There is traceability for all of these animals so they would have to come up with ear tags and they would need to be recorded with the Department of Agriculture,” he said.
He explained that these animals could be the subject of “illegal tagging” in order that they could become useful to those who stole them and the gardaí are liaising with the Department of Agriculture on the matter.
“There is a suggestion that a lorry was seen in the area on January 26. We have been in touch with the Clare, Limerick and Tipperary marts and we are in contact with the Department of Agriculture in case there are any unusual reporting of animals lost or dead or anything that would lead to retagging, and the department is assisting with our enquiries,” Inspector O’Sullivan explained.
He added that he would “imagine there would be more than one” person involved in this crime, however, “as the animals were housed and confined to an area it would be easy to back a lorry up to the shed and load up” so it could have been carried out by one individual.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Killaloe Garda Station on 061 620540.