Wicklow farmers have reported a series of thefts amounting to more than 80 sheep in recent months.

Four farmers say they are missing sheep worth €15,000 and they are looking for answers.

Cousins Louie and Laurie Harney have 41 sheep missing in total on Aughavanagh Mountain, near the base of the Lugnaquilla in Co Wickow.

“I’m missing 21 and my cousin Laurie is missing 20,” Louie told the Irish Farmers Journal.

“That’s about €8,000 worth of sheep between us. We’ve realised in the last week that it’s an epidemic around Blessington too.

“It’s not a case of the sheep not being used to the hill and dying. My cousin put up hoggets last year and they all came back,” he said.

While the pair had held out hope that the sheep would turn up, their comrades were taken down off the mountain in October. There has been no sign of them since.

“This is going on for years. About 20 years ago, myself and another cousin had 60 sheep missing.

“However, there appears to be no one talking about it,” Harney said.

Laurie Harney and his son Gerald have EID boluses given to all their sheep and they have branded them with a H on the left shoulder and a circle on the right hip area, both in red.

They also have U-shaped ear notches, one on the tip of the right ear and two on either side of the left ear.

‘Unbelievable theft’

Tom Stephenson, a suckler and sheep farmer from Castleruddery Park in Donard, Co Wicklow, told the Irish Farmers Journal that there is “unbelievable theft” going on in recent times.

Two months ago, he had 29 lambs taken from a field near his farm overnight.

“We are the other side of the hill to the Harneys and we had sheep stolen about two months ago. They were all over 50kg in weight and were getting meal every day. Someone was watching them and knew they were getting fed.

“There are sheep being stolen every year, it’s going on the whole time,” Stephenson said.

Unless gardaí can get access to the system, their hands are tied

The lack of Garda access to the sheep register is the biggest challenge, he maintains.

“Unless gardaí can get access to the system, their hands are tied. As it stands, if they suspect cattle or sheep in a trailer are stolen, they can’t do anything; if they had access they’d be able to say straight away.

“There are also no pounds in Ireland like there used to be. So even if gardaí did seize livestock they’d have nowhere to go with them,” he said.

Stephenson has been the victim of other thefts too, with a quad previously stolen from his farmyard.

“My brother who lives 200 yards down the road from me had a full tank of diesel stolen overnight. There’s information being passed down the line locally by someone,” he insisted.

Missing 15

Larry Lalor also had sheep missing from Aughavanagh Mountain.

“I’m missing 15 which is a few more than usual. I wouldn’t like to think they were stolen but I don’t know,” he told the Irish Farmers Journal.