Renewed concerns about cattle thefts in the Northern Territory could be addressed through a resourced, dedicated stock squad similar to that operating in Queensland, according to the Northern Territory Cattlemen’s Association.
The comments were prompted by reports at the end of May of the possible theft of 800 head of cattle from a station south west of Katherine, and community queries about outcomes of police investigations into such a big loss.
NT Police northern area commander, Bruce Porter, said no charges had been laid, due to a lack of evidence.
It had been alleged that 520 of the missing cattle were unbranded, according to commander Porter, which he said made a difficult investigation even harder.
“A lot of fences were down after the recent floods, and a lot of bordering stations with roaming cattle on them,” he said.
He didn’t believe that stock thefts were on the rise in the Territory, saying the number involved in this case, and their value, estimated at $700,000, was just more than usual.
“A lot of thefts go unreported – we can’t fully determine the extent of cattle stealing in the Northern Territory,” he said. “We’d encourage owners to put measures in place – branding and tags – to prove ownership.”
He also appealed to the NTCA to work closely with its members to use the powers available through section 27 of the NT Livestock Act to, after providing written notice, enter land and retrieve stray stock.
“A lot of station owners don’t apply this,” he said. “From our perspective, they don’t want to bring down relations with neighbours.”
The NTCA’s Tom Ryan said police were under-resourced to tackle the problem, which warranted the reinstatement of a stock squad.
A recent survey with members received a huge response, with an overwhelming majority reporting that stock theft was a problem in the NT.
According to the NT Country Hour, about a third of respondents reported stock being stolen, and half said they’d had killers taken from their property.
Mr Ryan told the program that, given the increase in the value of cattle, stock theft was likely to become a bigger problem in the future.
“The NTCA will continue to work constructively with NT police to look at options for resourcing a stock squad,” he said.
“It’s probably something to take up more after the election.”
Sally Gall
Based at Blackall, CW Qld, where I've raised a family, run Merino sheep and beef cattle, and helped develop a region - its history, tourism, education and communications. Get in touch at 0427 575 955 if you've got a story idea for me.
Based at Blackall, CW Qld, where I've raised a family, run Merino sheep and beef cattle, and helped develop a region - its history, tourism, education and communications. Get in touch at 0427 575 955 if you've got a story idea for me.
