FARMERS on the high moor above Okehampton are being encouraged to take part in a new pilot project on Dartmoor aimed at tackling increasing problems with sheep rustling.

Leading rural insurer NFU Mutual is joining forces with Devon & Cornwall Police to fund the Devon Livestock Initiative, in response to ongoing regular thefts of sheep in remote areas such as Dartmoor.

The project’s key aim is to encourage people to report suspicious activity to local farmers when they are out and about in the countryside.

It is initially being launched on parts of Dartmoor and if successful it’ll be rolled out across Devon and Cornwall where farmers and parishes have theft concerns and would like an opportunity to work together.

The Devon Livestock Initiative will provide farmers with gate signs which include the times that stock are normally moved and ask members of the public who see sheep being moved outside these times, to call a displayed phone number for a local farmer or the police on 101.

PC Martin Beck of the Devon & Cornwall Police rural crime team, said: ’The signage campaign is not just about the farmers, it is as much for those in our communities who live, work and pass our farms every day.

’We will be contacting parish councils and visiting other groups and community leaders in those pilot areas to help spread the word on how we can prevent theft together. Letting people know about the signs and helping them understand more about farming in their local areas can really make a difference in reducing and preventing theft.

’We want to help educate people. Some thefts take place during the hours of darkness while others will happen in broad daylight. You may not actually realise you are witnessing a theft or crime taking place so by putting these signs up, it helps to raise awareness of those activities which are out of the ordinary.

’This will help the community know what to look out for and, importantly, how to report it. We need to send a clear message to criminals that livestock theft will not be tolerated, there is every chance someone will see you and communities are joining forces to stop it.’

It’s hoped this new campaign will help farmers like Colin Abel, whose family have farmed sheep across thousands of acres of rugged Dartmoor for over a hundred years.

Over the last decade, they have been plagued by sheep theft and Colin estimates the farm is now losing 200 sheep a year to thieves. The moor’s unfenced roads and sparse population make it attractive to rustlers who have skills to round up sheep, transport them, and have a market for illegally slaughtered and butchered meat.

He said he was taking part in the pilot because ’the situation was getting worse’ and it was deterring farmers from grazing their livestock on the moor.

He added: ’The situation is getting worse. For small farms, the risk of having stock stolen is now making it too risky to graze sheep on the moor. Small farmers have been grazing sheep on Dartmoor for centuries as commoners, so the constant threat of theft is forcing an end to traditional farming life in West Devon.

’Because fewer sheep are being kept on Dartmoor, that’s leading to grass not being grazed which in turn brings a higher risk of fire. In a dry spell in February, we had one of the worst moorland fires we have ever seen, covering hundreds of acres of moorland.’