Rustlers target dairy heifers in Newbliss raid

Damian McCarney

Cattle-rustlers stooped to a new low as they targeted 17 young dairy stock in a raid on a Newbliss farm last week.
The thieves struck at David Hall’s 10-acre farm, beside Killeevan Church of Ireland, a few miles from his Lissarley home, on the outskirts of Newbliss village. 
Between David checking on his livestock at about 5pm on Tuesday afternoon and again at lunchtime on Wednesday the gang made off with 13 heifers and four bulls, mostly Jersey-Friesian crosses, and one Friesian-Hereford cross.
“I’m still kind of numbed, or stunned,” said David. “Angry, I suppose; completely shocked. I knew there was a risk of beef animals being stolen and slaughtered and processed immediately, but I never dreamt of young stock like that being a target.”
Gardaí from Monaghan attended the scene. Judging by wheel marks, David speculates that it was a truck rather than jeep and trailer which took them.
The rustlers cut fencing, which had cordoned off on a derelict house on the property, and turned a courtyard into an improvised loading bay. They discarded gates, also used to load the livestock, which didn’t belong to the Halls. 
“Probably someone else around the country has gates missing,” he said.

Loss
David, who has been farming full-time for 10 years, and part-time a for further decade, has never been targeted by thieves before, and neither have his close neighbours.
“Not in the immediate area [have there been attacks], once you go five or six miles way from here, there’s been a few attacks but, again, [they were] all beef animals or older animals which would have been able to be slaughtered and processed - not wee small things like this.”
The loss will definitely be felt by David.
“Market value would be quite low, but the cost to me would probably be about €600 a head for the females alone because they are worth about €300 from when they are born. The bulls would be about half that.
“[I] calved them, got them reared safely and avoided all the pitfalls at that stage and had them out to grass and they were thriving well and starting to look like they were growing into something.”
While many dairy farmers are planning to expand with the end of quotas next spring, David will have to forge a recovery plan from this theft.

Wary
“They are my own stock, I reared them all from birth and they were only about six months old.
“I was keeping them for replacements, but I also would have had a surplus probably in two years’ time. I would have been keeping extras if the opportunity became available, or for selling on,” explained father-of-three David.
“I suppose I’ll probably try to manage with a few less for the next season or whatever - I know I don’t have the money to go out and replace them at the moment - that isn’t an option.” 
The farm is close to the main road but there are no houses overlooking the property, and a country lane running nearby would seldom have vehicles on it at night time. The land was mostly used for silage, but a section of steep land was used for grazing. David is reluctant to have livestock on that field again.
“Yes, I don’t know what sort of animal you would put in that would be safe... I suppose it would make you very wary.”