UFU To Meet PSNI About Farm Thefts

Northern Ireland, UK - The Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) is to meet senior Police Service of Northern Irealand (PSNI) commanders later this week to discuss the urgent need for measures to tackle rural theft.
calendar icon 9 August 2011
clock icon 1 minute read

The UFU/PSNI meeting follows the publication of rural crime statistics by rural insurer National Farmers Union (NFU) Mutual. Their latest survey shows that the most commonly stolen items in rural areas are quad bikes, followed by tractors and tools.

Northern Ireland was the second worst region in the UK for livestock rustling.

UFU President John Thompson said: “The rural crime figures published by NFU Mutual show that this is a major issue which must be dealt with."

"The statistics won’t shock farmers who already know that theft from farm yards and the theft of livestock has become a common and costly occurrence. The UFU is meeting senior PSNI commanders on Friday to discuss the urgency of dealing with this and we have also recently met with the NI Justice Minister on the same subject. More must be done to prevent rural theft.”

Mr Thompson said innovative projects were underway in various regions across Northern Ireland but a more joined up approach was needed to overcome the growing problem of rural crime.

He said: “In some areas we have been able to work with PSNI, hosting farm security events and introducing rural text alert and trailer security marking schemes. These are very helpful but the next obvious step is to see a co-ordinated approach across every region of Northern Ireland to tackle this major problem.”

TheCattleSite News Desk

© 2000 - 2024 - Global Ag Media. All Rights Reserved | No part of this site may be reproduced without permission.