Sheep rustling is on the rise in most areas of the English countryside, but one farmer might have just found the solution to stop thieves. BBC has the story.
"How would you prevent your sheep from being stolen? Well, according to one farmer here in Dartmoor, you do this. You dye them orange. But this is no laughing matter because livestock thefts have increased by up to 500 percent. "
The farmer John Heard turned to this desperate measure after he had lost more than 200 sheep in the past few years. He says each ewe costs ? 140 or about $230. Heard explains to The Telegraph,
"It works because they are so easy to distinguish making it easier for me and my neighbours to keep a wary eye out for them. Plus the rustlers are obviously nervous about stealing such easily distinguished animals. "
Heard is one of the many farmers struggling with a rise in livestock theft in England. SkyNews reports,
"Thieves strike at night and are highly organized. In one of the worst cases of the year, 271 sheep were taken from a Lancashire farm. Sheep rustling is at a decade high. "
SkyNews also adds the main reason for the sudden spike in thefts is the rise in the price of lamb. The Washington Post says global economy is to blame.
"The ovine crime wave began, insurance company and farm union officials say, after global food prices started jumping again... Because of escalating world demand and scaled-back production in such nations as New Zealand, a farmer's price per pound for lamb here is now about 35 percent higher than in 2008. "
According to the BBC - Sheep rustling also poses a health threat because meat from the stolen animals might enter the market without undergoing inspection.
"If these animals were stolen, they may well be illegally slaughtered, so not fit for human consumption, if they've recently been vaccinated or dipped. "
As for the orange sheep, the owner says the dye is harmless and eventually fades away.
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