HARD TO DETECT

Evening Post, Issue 51, 2 March 1931, Page 11

HARD TO DETECT

THEFT OF SHEEP

i SPECIAL BRANDS DESIRED

(By Teleoraph.) (Special to "The Evening. Post.")

INVBKCABGILL, This Day.

Southland is by no means free from sheep-stealing, according to a statement niado \>y Mr. Walter Clark, of- Woodlands, at a mooting of directors of the Southland' Agricultural and -Pastoral Association on Saturday, to the effect that he had had 350 good wethers and hoggets stolen from his property this season; He stated that the great difficulty _ia detecting thefts of this nature was that no fanner could adopt an exclusive brand for branding his sheep and prevent his neighbours or any other farmers in the' district from adopting tho same brand. He had consulted the police concerning the thefts, but in view of the fact that the, sheep had been purchased by him from several quarters and had borne tho oarbrands of the farmers who had bred them, identification of the sheep would be impossible. Another factor was that'he had not discovered the theft until after shearing, by which time the stolen sheep would probably have been shorn and there would be no means of tracing them. It had been suggested that he should adopt. a special brand,' but he had discovered that tho regulations did not permit him to register apy exclusive brand, and there was nothing to prevent every farmer in tho district, or the province, from adopting tho samo brand.

Several of the directors expressed the opinion that aome alteration should he mado to tlio regulations to , prevent stealing, or, at least, to,make detection of tho thefts simpler: It was generally conceded that a good deal of sheepetealing was being carried'on in Southland, but the risk of detection appeared to be slight. Removing sheep undor cover of darkness and conveying them to other districts was considered to be largely responsible for the losses sustained by farmers of late.