Criminal gangs cause ‘sharp rise’ in sheep rustling during coronavirus pandemic

Rural thieves also increasingly targeting costly farm GPS equipment to sell abroad, Jane Dalton reports

Sheep worth a total of £3m were stolen from farms last year, and the number shot up during the height of the pandemic

Gangs targeting farm animals led to a sharp rise in numbers of sheep being stolen at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, according to an insurer.

Sheep rustling rose almost 15 per cent year-on-year in April, according to provisional data from NFU Mutual.

Many of the animals were slaughtered in fields, leaving bloody carcasses for farmers to find, and the meat is sold on illegally.