Gardaí have begun an investigation after a gang of cattle rustlers have struck once more, stealing seven animals price as much as €15,000 from an unoccupied mountain farm close to the Cork-Kerry border on Christmas Eve.
The most recent theft is believed to have occurred within the early hours of December twenty fourth when thieves stole seven animals belonging to Ballyvourney farmer, Jack Corkery from an out of doors farm at Direenauling close to the county bounds, eight kilometres from his dwelling at Toonlane, Ballyvourney.
Mr Corkery’s daughter, Aine informed The Irish Instances how they found the seven animals had been lacking once they went to verify on them on Christmas Eve, having seen all animals had been current and nothing was untoward once they visited the skin farm at round 6pm on December twenty third.
“My father went to verify on them round 6pm on Friday they usually had been all fantastic however when he went again out on Saturday morning, he shortly noticed that seven animals had been gone – a 5 Star pedigree Angus bull, 4 in calf Aubrac cross cows and two weanling calves,” she stated.
“He was protecting 42 animals on the market and the animals that had been all stolen had been within the pen nearest the door, however they had been different animals in the identical pen, so that they had a little bit of sorting to do – the actual fact they stole weanling calves threw us – that’s exhausting to determine but it surely’s like they had been stealing to order
“It’s very upsetting for my father – significantly the theft of the bull as a result of he knew the animal nicely and knew his temperament – he knew when he was performing up and when to depart him alone – now he’s going to must get a brand new bull and there’s no assure he can have the identical temperament.”
The Corkerys have reported the theft to gardaí in Macroom however they’ve additionally made their very own inquiries regionally and have established {that a} jeep towing a 3 axle trailer went over the Prime of Coom on the Cork-Kerry border, simply past Cuil Aodha, round 2am on Saturday, December twenty fourth.
“Everybody round is saying the three axle trailer noticed going over the Prime of Coom would have the ability to take the quantity of animals they took – we’ve checked with folks in Kilgarvan and it doesn’t appear to have handed there so we reckon it got here again on the Cork-Killarney Street at Lavatory Bridge.”
Gardaí say that they think that the Ballyvourney cattle thefts stands out as the work of identical gang of cattle rustlers, who stole eight cattle from an out of doors farm Aughadown close to Skibbereen in West Cork in mid-November once they once more focused an remoted unoccupied property.
On that event, the thieves made off with 5 Friesian heifers and three Aberdeen Angus bullocks from a slatted unit on the farm someday between 6pm on Saturday, November twelfth and 10am on Tuesday November fifteenth when the farmer found the animals had been lacking.
A garda supply stated: “It’s a really related sort of theft – it’s very brazen as a result of they clearly needed to do a recce beforehand, they couldn’t simply pull up so that they should have scouted the place out and had good native data in phrases again roads to get out and in in Ballyvourney as they did in Aughadown.
“They usually needed to type out the animals and choose those they wished, they usually should have some outlet for them as a result of they clearly knew what animals they wished and what ones they had been forsaking – it’s a imply crime and one that’s making farmers very anxious about their herds.”
Anybody with any data that may help gardaí of their investigation into both the newest thefts from Ballyvourney or the November thefts from Aughadown close to Skibbereen is requested to contact Macroom Garda station on 026 – 20590 or any Garda station.