Some unregulated abbatoirs taking in stolen cattle, says Tipperary Garda chief

Tipperary’s most senior garda says a number of unregulated abattoirs are assisting cattle thieves by taking stolen animals. 
Tipperary Garda Division Chief Superintendent, Derek Smart, appealed to anyone with information on cattle thefts in the county and the role of unregulated abattoirs in this criminal activity to contact their local Garda Station or the Garda Confidential Phone Line.
He issued the appeal at Tipperary County Council’s latest Joint Policing Committee meeting where North Tipperary IFA chairperson Imelda Walsh raised the recent thefts of Freisian heifers from Cloughjordan and calves from a farm near Roscrea. The stolen livestock were subsequently recovered.
The Chief Supt said these animals were stolen because it seemed there was a market for them. The thieves are retagging them with forged tags and move them on elsewhere in the country. There were also a number of unregulated abattoirs that were willing to take these animals.
He said the gardaí were keeping an eye out for suspicious trucks and vans with trailers.
Gardaí were also working with the Irish Farmers’ Association on tackling this crime. He welcomed the IFA’s support and suggestions and support from other community groups in relation to this problem.