Cost of rural crime in NI rises to £2.5m, says NFU Mutual

The cost of rural crime in Northern Ireland increased to £2.5m last year, according to the rural insurer National Farmers Union (NFU) Mutual.

That represented an increase of 51% from 2021, it added.

Police statistics show 190 agricultural crimes were recorded from 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2022.

Rural crime includes theft of vehicles, livestock, fuel, dogs attacking farm animals, fly-tipping and illegal waste dumping.

It comes after police said there had been a "significant increase" in GPS thefts on farms since June.

Sheelagh Wynne from NFU Mutual said the rise in cost was not surprising because some of the equipment that farmers use was expensive and high tech.

"More and more farmers in Northern Ireland use GPS equipment to help guide tractors and combine harvesters. This sophisticated equipment can cost £10,000 and a large number of GPS machines have been stolen in the last month alone," she said.

Blow to confidence

She said that farms in Northern Ireland were smaller than in the rest of the UK and when family farms invest in machinery they should be investing in securing it.

However she said this may not always be the case.

William Irvine, the deputy president of the Ulster Farmers' Union, said rural theft was an assault on a farmer's privacy.

"In most cases farms are also people's homes and it's a major blow to a farmer's confidence," he said.

"In years gone by rural crime tended to be fairly opportunistic but now big pieces of kit are stolen to order and some of the people involved are more organised and harder to deal with."

Mr Irvine said animal theft was still an issue but it was clear that criminals were more interested in taking machinery and technology.

Libby Clarke's attackers were never caught

Farmer Libby Clarke said she still feels unsafe on her farm following an attack several years ago.

Ms Clarke suffered breaks to her eye socket, cheekbone and teeth during the attack, which also led to her needing hip replacement surgery.

Tools and equipment were stolen, but her attackers were never caught.

"Those two people attacked me on my own farm in broad daylight," she told the BBC's Good Morning Ulster programme.

"So many farmers are lone workers and you don't always feel 100% safe in your own environment.

"If there's a bit of plastic blowing in the wind I would be spooked - you don't spend that extra time down in the yard enjoying your farm."