New campaign calls on communities and countryside visitors to join the fight against livestock theft

Police and partners work together to prevent livestock theft

A new awareness campaign is being launched to encourage residents and countryside visitors to help fight rural crime and livestock theft in Devon.

Leading rural insurer NFU Mutual is joining forces with Devon & Cornwall Police to fund the Devon Livestock Initiative, in response to ongoing regular thefts of sheep in remote areas such as Dartmoor.

The project’s key aim is to encourage people to report suspicious activity to local farmers when they are out and about in the countryside. It is initially being launched on parts of Dartmoor and if successful it’ll be rolled out across Devon and Cornwall where farmers and parishes have theft concerns and would like an opportunity to work together.

The Devon Livestock Initiative will provide farmers with gate signs which include the times that stock are normally moved and ask members of the public who see sheep being moved outside these times, to call a displayed phone number for a local farmer or the police on 101.

The initiative is part of a wider project being run by Devon & Cornwall Police, with support from NFU Mutual, to trial a range of security measures to prevent and detect livestock theft.

View full article here:https://www.devon-cornwall.police.uk/News/NewsArticle.aspx?id=12ff03f0-6ab4-433c-aafe-1884e5cef477

Message Sent By
Julie Heath (Police, DC Alert Officer, Devon & Cornwall)