In March, 30 sheep were taken from their field in Hardacre, and 100 more from Ingleton in May. Then in July, sixty lambs were stolen from a farm near Harrogate. The list of sheep-rustling incidents goes on, and now North Yorkshire police are taking a new tact.

Embedded into the animal’s fleece, the TecTracer uses coded markers to alert the police and nearby farms if the sheep is stolen.

The technology has been adapted from that which is used to protect church roofs from lead thieves and stays put even if the sheep is sheared. A tag, on the other hand, can be cut out and replaced, so the sheep can’t be traced to the farm from which it was stolen.

“Sheep stealing is a major problem for the whole of the UK, but in recent years the North East has been particularly hard hit,” said TecTracer director John Minary.

“We have been working closely with North Yorkshire Police’s Rural Taskforce and the farming community, and TecTracer is now being piloted on farms in North Yorkshire.”

Livestock rustling remains a huge problem across the UK, costing £2.9 million in 2016 according to NFU Mutual’s Rural Crime Report.

“By having sheep protected by TecTracer it will certainly make would-be thieves think twice before contemplating stealing them,” Mr Minary said.

Farmer Jonathan Murray said that he was keen to implement the technology if it meant keeping his animals safe.

“As a livestock farmer, sheep rustling is an increasing worry, that’s why I’m more than happy to help trial TecTracer here on my farm. A lot of farmers feel quite isolated and criminals are becoming more resourceful, we therefore need to ensure we are equipped with the latest assets to deter thieves from stealing our property and potentially ruining our livelihoods.”

Make sure you’re protected against whatever the future holds. Call us on 0113 2500377.