12 cattle stolen in Co Monaghan on Sunday night were found by the owner yesterday evening following a call out for help. €20,000 worth of animals were taken but it's not the first time and won't be the last in the border region.
That's according to IFA Ulster/North Leinster Regional Chairman, Frank Brady who says its not just cattle being stolen, so too are quads, tractors and bales of silage. Mr Brady says the thefts are a growing concern for both the IFA and farmers across the border region.
He added there is a market for 'cheap meat' while some cattle are stolen to order so they can be retagged and replaced in herds in Northern Ireland. "In rural Ireland there are speed cameras every where you go. Surely to God these cameras can give you a registration plate of every car that went by if there has been a robbery in that area.
"Are we understaffed in the Gardai; have they all gone to urban areas and rural Ireland is being forgotten about? That is something we have to look at. The garda stations in Ballybay and Cootehill are not open fulltime and if anything happens in that area you have to wait for someone to come from either Castleblayney, Cavan or Monaghan," said Mr Brady.
