A Kerry farmer is offering a reward of €2,000 for any information leading to the recovery of 45 in-lamb ewes stolen from his commonage, as exclusively revealed on farmersjounal.ie last week.
Michael Joe O’Shea had 400 Scotch ewes wintering on an open commonage called the Comh, Bailelochaigh, on Mount Brandon. He and his brother-in-law Paddy Hanafin realised the ewes were missing when the flock was brought down from the hill for lambing.
O’Shea initially offered a reward of €1,000 but increased it to €2,000 over the weekend in the hope of ramping up the pressure.
“Someone might see something or say something,” O’Shea told the Irish Farmers Journal. “It would be nice to catch them.”
Hanafin said: “We’ve been out searching ever since but there isn’t a sign of them. It’s like they disappeared off the face of the earth.
“Between the ewes, the lambs and the subsidies, they would be worth about €8,000. That’s a lot of money.”
The Mount Brandon duo and other Kerry hill farmers believe sheep are being stolen from the mountain commonages and lower ground on a regular basis.
“They are being taken off the mountain, the tags are cut off and they are being sold,” said Hanafin.
Lispole farmer Dinny Galvin also suspects sheep are being stolen from the mountain and moved to the midlands.
“Young sheep are worth money. I would be warning farmers up the country to be very wary of what you are buying,” said Galvin. “I’ve heard of bits and pieces, nine and 10 sheep going missing every year.”
Fellow Lispole farmer Gerard Kennedy said he lost 20 ewes in 2015 and five ewes with lambs at foot last year. The sheep, a mixture of Scotch and Mayo ewes, were grazing on commonage at Beanoscithe.
“If they were dead, you’d come across them but these never turned up,” he said.
Lucrative
Another farmer from Castlegregory who had two purebred Swaledale ewes stolen from his lowland farm believes thieves have been at work on the Kerry mountains for years.
“It’s always been going on but the scale has scaled up,” he said. “The motivation, I’m guessing, is money. A nice ewe in lamb is making €130 to €140.
“Part of the problem is that people haven’t been making enough noise. But it’s been going on too long now, the scale is almost industrial now.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact Dingle Garda Station on 066-915 3851.
Kerry sheep thefts
45 in-lamb Scotch ewes, the Comh, Bailelochaigh, 2016.Two purebred Swaledale ewes, Castlegregory, 2016.20 Scotch and Mayo ewes, Beanoscithe, 2015.Five ewes with lambs at foot, Beanoscithe, 2015.20 in-lamb Scotch and Scotch x Texel ewes, Bailelochaigh, 2014.
A Kerry farmer is offering a reward of €2,000 for any information leading to the recovery of 45 in-lamb ewes stolen from his commonage, as exclusively revealed on farmersjounal.ie last week.
Michael Joe O’Shea had 400 Scotch ewes wintering on an open commonage called the Comh, Bailelochaigh, on Mount Brandon. He and his brother-in-law Paddy Hanafin realised the ewes were missing when the flock was brought down from the hill for lambing.
O’Shea initially offered a reward of €1,000 but increased it to €2,000 over the weekend in the hope of ramping up the pressure.
“Someone might see something or say something,” O’Shea told the Irish Farmers Journal. “It would be nice to catch them.”
Hanafin said: “We’ve been out searching ever since but there isn’t a sign of them. It’s like they disappeared off the face of the earth.
“Between the ewes, the lambs and the subsidies, they would be worth about €8,000. That’s a lot of money.”
The Mount Brandon duo and other Kerry hill farmers believe sheep are being stolen from the mountain commonages and lower ground on a regular basis.
“They are being taken off the mountain, the tags are cut off and they are being sold,” said Hanafin.
Lispole farmer Dinny Galvin also suspects sheep are being stolen from the mountain and moved to the midlands.
“Young sheep are worth money. I would be warning farmers up the country to be very wary of what you are buying,” said Galvin. “I’ve heard of bits and pieces, nine and 10 sheep going missing every year.”
Fellow Lispole farmer Gerard Kennedy said he lost 20 ewes in 2015 and five ewes with lambs at foot last year. The sheep, a mixture of Scotch and Mayo ewes, were grazing on commonage at Beanoscithe.
“If they were dead, you’d come across them but these never turned up,” he said.
Lucrative
Another farmer from Castlegregory who had two purebred Swaledale ewes stolen from his lowland farm believes thieves have been at work on the Kerry mountains for years.
“It’s always been going on but the scale has scaled up,” he said. “The motivation, I’m guessing, is money. A nice ewe in lamb is making €130 to €140.
“Part of the problem is that people haven’t been making enough noise. But it’s been going on too long now, the scale is almost industrial now.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact Dingle Garda Station on 066-915 3851.
Kerry sheep thefts
45 in-lamb Scotch ewes, the Comh, Bailelochaigh, 2016.Two purebred Swaledale ewes, Castlegregory, 2016.20 Scotch and Mayo ewes, Beanoscithe, 2015.Five ewes with lambs at foot, Beanoscithe, 2015.20 in-lamb Scotch and Scotch x Texel ewes, Bailelochaigh, 2014. 
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