Farmer offers reward after six cattle are stolen
Wednesday August 25 2010
A BAFFLED Oylegate farmer is offering a cash reward for information leading to the recovery of six cattle stolen from a field in Coolanick. And worried Kevin Murphy revealed that he lost four of his stock in a similar rustling raid last year.
Kevin and his wife Siobhán have appealed for anyone who saw anything in the area on Monday or Tuesday of last week to pass their information on to the Gardaí. In the meantime, he said that there has been no sign of the half dozen black coated Aberdeen Angus crossbreds he left grazing in a field on an out-farm last week.
'It was a pick and grab,' commented the frustrated herd owner who lost two cull cows and four young bulls all aged 15 or 16 months. He put the value of the missing stock at €5,500 but said the stolen animals were worth more to him because of their organic status. All were bred on his farm at Ryane.
Meat factories and abattoirs have been notified of the tag numbers on the missing cattle.
'Four cattle were taken last year from the home place in Ryane,' recalled Kevin Murphy. 'Once off was bad enough but twice is a sickener.' He explained his cattle are quite tame and probably required nothing more than a bucket of feed to tempt them to come to the gate. A total of 19 animals were in the field at the time, probably early on Tuesday morning of last week.
The farmer arrived to collect them on Tuesday evening to find just thirteen in the field. He looked in adjoining lands but quickly concluded that the thieves had struck again. He notified the Gardaí in Oylegate on (053)9138132.
