Police to be given sheep handling training

A police force is being forced to undergo specialist sheep training, in an attempt to drive out ewe thieves.

North Yorkshire Police officers are currently being trained in the delicate art of sheep handling, in order to quell the rise in farmyard theft of late. As the largest rural county in England, North Yorkshire has suffered an increase in lamb theft, costing an estimated £1.2million locally and a shocking £2.5million countywide.

The move as a recent survey conducted by rural insurer NFU Mutual has found an estimated 13,000 animals were stolen from Yorkshire and the North East in the last year. This in turn prompted the National Farmers' Union to organise training days for police, focused on identification and movement regulations for sheep.

Laurie Norris, Union County Adviser for North Riding, explained the pandemic, saying: “It is not surprising that the police often feel ill-equipped to tackle sheep rustling, given that the regulations surrounding sheep identification and movement are quite complex.