A Co Derry sheep farmer had 43 Scottish Blackface hoggets stolen last week.

The incident took place between 7pm on Wednesday 7 October and 7am the following morning, close to the Windyhill Road in Limavady.

Owner Gerard Harkin said the sheep were checked on the Wednesday evening as normal.

“I came back the next morning, but thought that numbers looked light from the road. Once I was on the hill, I noticed tyre tracks of a trailer and jeep. There was an area of rushes that had been flattened where sheep had been held before loading,” he told the Irish Farmers Journal.

Harkin believes it would have taken a team of people and dogs to bring sheep in off the hill in the dark.

“It is absolutely devastating. They were super hoggets that had been recently purchased at great expense. I have no replacements for this year now. There is little chance of replacing the sheep with hoggets of the same quality.

“I have also had to round up other sheep from the same land block and move them to other grazing,” he said.

Markings

The Lanark-type sheep did have distinct markings with orange paint applied to the head and neck. Reports from the northwest region suggest that there has been a rise in incidents of sheep theft in recent weeks.