Any incident involving stolen cattle should be reported to the Garda Siochana in the first instance as the Gardai have primary responsibility for investigating such matters. Stolen cattle cannot be traded legally in the State as all bovines must bear official ear tags, be properly registered and be located on this Department’s Animal Identification and Movement (AIM) database in the herd of the individual moving or selling the bovine. When cattle are reported as stolen to my Department they are marked on the AIM database as being stolen on foot of a Garda report. If these animals are presented anywhere in the State for sale, slaughter or export they are checked against the database and will be rejected at these outlets and an investigation initiated.
Where necessary this Department through the Special Investigation Unit (SIU), may assist the Gardai with their investigations into cases of stolen animals and this could involve liaison with cross border colleagues. In this regard a cross border liaison Group comprising the relevant investigation bodies, including the SIU, is currently assessing the theft of animals on an all Ireland basis.