Protect the livestock on your farm:
Livestock theft is incredibly difficult to protect yourself against, and is becoming increasingly common. Thieves often don’t use the main point of access to a field choosing to cut through barbed wire or fence instead. It is a crime that often needs a degree of organization, as dogs are used to round up the sheep and put them on a trailer.
Checking your animals regularly can alert you to their theft, marking the animals can make them difficult to dispose of. The following list might give you more ideas and if any new products come out we will add them here.
Things to consider to protect your livestock:
Lock the gates
Just use cheap chains and locks – as they may well just chop them off OR even go through the fence instead. That said locks will make it a bit more difficult, and the longer they need to be there the greater the chance that someone will see them. Related Product: Chains Padlocks and Other Locks
Use landscaping in very vulnerable fields
The theft of animals requires the use of a vehicle. In fields that are especially vulnerable, or you have lost animals from theft already you could think about using landscaping, bollards, removable cattle grids and the like to prevent vehicles gaining access. Ditches, mounds and hedges will also help. Related Product: Access Control
Use remote alarms
If you can predict the routes the criminals will take, you could consider using an alarm system to alert you to gates opening and closing, or the use of a track. Related Product: Driveway Alarms
Distinctively mark your animals
We spoke to a farmer who had dyed his sheep pink and hit the headlines. He confirmed that the thefts only returned after he had stopped dying them. Marking your sheep lets you tell the police something like – “You are looking for the guy with 12 pink sheep”. Also If the thief is another farmer it is more difficult for him to hide the sheep in his own flock. Tattoos and other marking methods are less effective but at least let you identify the sheep if they turn up at some point.
Use hidden trail cameras
If you have a field where animals regularly go missing you might consider the use of a hidden trail camera as a cost effective way to get some idea of who is responsible. The top of the range models will even send images to you over the mobile phone network. Related Product: Remote Surveillance Camera