An Irish private detective believes he has made a breakthrough in protecting sheep flocks from thieves and rustlers.

Pat Shannon had 25 years’ experience as a detective garda, prior to setting up the Covert Detective Agency in Co Mayo.

“About three months ago, I was approached by a farmer who had been a victim of sheep theft,” he said. “So I formulated a plan to help detect thefts and prevent further thefts”

He decided to try satellite technology, trialling GPS trackers to see how they worked.

The GPS tracker used to protect sheep flocks - actual size is smaller than a typical mobile phone

The device can be worn on a sheep collar, and isn’t overly visible, smaller than a mobile phone.

There are two ways to protect the sheep – covertly or overtly.

“Some farmers want the people responsible for the sheep theft caught and brought before the courts,” Shannon explained.

“So we conceal the device on one or more sheep in a flock. We monitor the movement of those sheep, setting up a geofence. If that geofence is breached, an alert is sent to your phone.

Sheep wear the tracker on an unobtrusive collar.

“If the farmer is confident that he can maintain the system, I will assist him to do that, or I can assume full responsibility for surveillance.

“Overt security has a deterrent element, with signage and more sheep openly collared, although not all will have a tracker, which will confuse and mislead thieves. I am using other surveillance technology, but I don’t want to reveal all the tricks of the trade,” he added.

No sim card or top-ups are required, just an annual satellite registration fee. Shannon was able to source the hardware and software locally, from iotsolutions.ie in Galway.

“My initial customer was the victim of a further theft, but we were successful in retrieving sheep and on foot of the information we gained. The gardaí are now pursuing a line of enquiry,” he said.

A small victory, and perhaps an important one.