Farmer makes appeal as gardaí issue warning over stolen cattle

GARDAI are asking farmers in West Cork to be extra vigilant after 13 cattle were stolen from the Skeagh area on Wednesday night/Thursday morning.

The Fresian cattle were stolen from a shed outside Skibbereen.

As a result local gardaí have urged farmers to check their security and also to be wary of cattle trucks or similar vehicles on the move late at night.  

‘You could see the skid marks going up the road,’ farmer Niamh Harte told C103 today.

She said she hoped a neighbour might have a camera on their farm or nearby road which might show the vehicle taking the cows.

‘The cows were clipped for lice two weeks ago so they have no hair on their backs – they would stand out,’ said Mrs Harte, adding it was an awful time for such a financial blow and the cattle are not covered by insurance.

‘They took the best, they knew what they were at,’ she said of the rustlers.