Livestock theft: Where stock was stolen in Victoria in 2020

Only four of the 249 livestock theft offences recorded last year led to arrests, new data reveals. Search our interactive to see the number of thefts in your area over the last five years.

Number of livestock theft offences in Victoria in 2020 compared with 2019.

LIVESTOCK theft offences in Victoria are at their lowest since 2017, with a 10 per cent decrease in offences in 2020 compared to 2019.

But farmers still lost more than $1.9 million to livestock theft last year and only four of the 249 offences recorded led to arrests, according to newly released Crime Statistics Agency Victoria data.

Victorian Farmers Federation livestock group president Steve Harrison said the number of arrests was “terrible” and police needed to be better resourced for thieves to be caught and prosecuted.

“Livestock theft is still ongoing and unfortunately I predict it will be higher this year with stock values at the levels they are,” he said.

Despite coronavirus lockdowns and restrictions limiting movement, Mr Harrison wasn’t surprised livestock theft remained high last year.

“With the shortage of food and panic buying, people were able to slaughter and sell on pretty quickly,” he said.

He encouraged producers to count their stock, and document when they were counting and observing their stock.

“A padlock around a loading ramp might not stop the professional thief but it would certainly deter others,” he added.

Of the 230 livestock reported stolen in 2020, 136 were sheep, 70 cattle and 12 horses.

The local government areas with the highest number of livestock thefts were Strathbogie (20), which increased by 60 per cent, Southern Grampians (17), Corangamite (15) and Moyne (10).

Farmers have lost more than $8.5 million to livestock theft over the last five years.

Victoria Police farm crime co-ordinator Inspector Karl Curran said farm crime is “traditionally severely under-reported” and a focus of his unit was to encourage farmers to have the confidence to report issues.

“With more people coming forward, this will inevitably result in an increase in recorded offences,” he said.

The new statistics also revealed an increase of farm equipment stolen, with 71 recorded in 2020 compared to 58 the year before.

Rural firearm and ammunition theft continued to decline, with 61 items stolen in 2020, compared to 78 the year before.

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