After an extremely challenging spring, a sheep farmer was given an additional, unwanted headache when he discovered that his lambing gates had been stolen.
James Johnston, a beef and sheep farmer from just outside Kildare town, had 19 5ft lambing gates stolen on Tuesday night.
"I only bought them a month ago at the height of the bad snow because we desperately needed them", James said.
"We're finished lambing now, and I was using them to train a young sheepdog before they were stolen. I came out on Wednesday morning and they were gone."
Although he was finished using them for this year, he hoped to get many more years out of them, as they had cost him €27 each when he purchased them a few weeks ago.
The gates were only 50m away from his house when they were stolen, which was a worry as his partner and child were in the house at the time.
Access
In order to gain access to the yard, the thieves had to cut the wire which separates the yard from the Dublin/Limerick railway which runs nearby. Although there hasn't been many thefts in the area recently, a jeep belonging to railway workers was broken into, which could possibly have been carried out by those who robbed his gates.
Although he contacted the gardaí about the incident and is keeping an eye on online platforms, James admits he is "unlikely to get them back".
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'Car-boot sale culture driving rural thefts' – midlands crime victim
After an extremely challenging spring, a sheep farmer was given an additional, unwanted headache when he discovered that his lambing gates had been stolen.
James Johnston, a beef and sheep farmer from just outside Kildare town, had 19 5ft lambing gates stolen on Tuesday night.
"I only bought them a month ago at the height of the bad snow because we desperately needed them", James said.
"We're finished lambing now, and I was using them to train a young sheepdog before they were stolen. I came out on Wednesday morning and they were gone."
Although he was finished using them for this year, he hoped to get many more years out of them, as they had cost him €27 each when he purchased them a few weeks ago.
The gates were only 50m away from his house when they were stolen, which was a worry as his partner and child were in the house at the time.
Access
In order to gain access to the yard, the thieves had to cut the wire which separates the yard from the Dublin/Limerick railway which runs nearby. Although there hasn't been many thefts in the area recently, a jeep belonging to railway workers was broken into, which could possibly have been carried out by those who robbed his gates.
Although he contacted the gardaí about the incident and is keeping an eye on online platforms, James admits he is "unlikely to get them back".
Read more
Half of crimes against farmers not reported
'Car-boot sale culture driving rural thefts' – midlands crime victim
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