Rural Crime News

Harvest is on hold at the farm after organised criminals broke into a locked grain shed to steal the loader, bypassing security measures.

Agricultural cooperative Dachie Livestock is asking people for information in regards to an incident in which a sheep was killed with “either a crossbow/bow and arrow or similar weapon”. 

A radical animal rights group, Animal Rising, has been fined nearly £60,000 after causing around £100,000 worth of damage at an Arla dairy distribution centre in Hertfordshire. 

Hertfordshire farmer Geoff Simms has fallen victim to rural crime after thieves ripped the GPS dome from the roof of his John Deere tractor. 

Police are appealing for information in regards to £2,000 of damage that was done to crops on a field in East Dorset. 

A wildlife haven and badger sett in an old quarry were damaged when a Newquay farmer dumped waste and excavation waste on the site, the Environment Agency said. 

A dog walker has been ordered to pay £4,500 after her dog was involved in a livestock attack causing the death of 20 lambs in Cheshire. 

The South Yorkshire Police Motorcycle and Rural Crime Team have confirmed that the addition of two new quad bikes has led to a significant reduction in rural crime in the area. 

The publication of the latest rural crime report coincided with the horrific news that a sheep was recently disembowelled in Oxfordshire and 36 lambs were stolen from a Staffordshire farm.

The cost of rural crime in the UK has exceeded the estimated £50 million last year as thieves became more organised and determined, according to new figures from NFU Mutual.  

The investigation continues into the death of a Lancashire farmer who suffered gunshot injuries. 

A Wellington dairy farmer was given a suspended prison sentence and was ordered to pay £10,000 for allowing slurry to run into the Westford Stream.