This is a subscriber-only article
The robbery of cattle last weekend in Louth has made farmers very fearful that cattle rustling will start up again in the county, according to Matthew McGreehan, former Louth IFA chair.
Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal, he said that rustling was a big issue when he was county chair of Louth, two years ago.
“Farmers who have had cattle stolen are angered at the sentences being handed down in recent court cases [regarding theft and rustling].
“There is no doubt that the gardaí put in a lot of work into the issue, but any rural crime has got to be taken seriously by the judiciary.
“The gardaí take it seriously, the judiciary has got to take it seriously too.”
Afraid in their own homes
McGreehan said that people are afraid in their own homes and that only recently he sat at the table of an elderly couple who have taken it [rural crime] hard.
“People are taking away other peoples’ livelihoods.”
From a traceability point of view, he said that cattle rustling is also damaging to farming’s reputation.
“People are bold as brass to go into another man’s yard and take his cattle.”
SHARING OPTIONS: