Day 39: Rural residents turn out to speakers’ event at Countrywide Chipping Norton to talk sheep

On Wednesday night (25/9), the Countrywide store in Chipping Norton held a speakers event about various issues around sheep and other agricultural issues. The event was attended by 76 farmers, vets and some of the biggest landowners in the Country. 

Naturally, the 100 days of action team went along and PCSO Angie Alford presented some prevention advice around livestock thefts and answered questions about recent thefts of sheep in the area. 

If you missed the event, here is some advice about protecting your livestock:

• Report any suspicious activity to the police straight away via the 24-hour non-emergency number 101 or if it is a crime in progress call 999. Encourage all farm workers and staff to do the same!
• Check livestock regularly. If they are making more noise than usual, this could mean something has disturbed them. Check the fields and surrounding areas for signs that someone may be in the fields.
• Check security of boundary fencing and hedging. Make regular checks to ensure fences haven’t been breached and make sure any damage is repaired as soon as possible
• Ear tags, horn brands, freeze marking and tattooing make animals more easily identifiable