Sheep farmer, Tomas McCarthy has been searching since the beginning of October for his 24 missing ewes from Mount Leinster commonage on the Co. Carlow/Wexford border.
McCarthy has posted pictures and descriptions of the three to four-year-old Cheviot ewes online and has warned farmers to watch out for the sale of the sheep.
He said that the sheep have an identifiable blue marking straight down their tail and have three quarter length tails, which would be longer than most other sheep.
The farmer said he lives around three miles from where the sheep are kept grazing on the mountain, but checks in regularly and is up the mountain every week.
“Good Cheviot ewes are making about €250/head this year, cast ewes are making around €200, so its a big money loss,” McCarthy said.
“But at this stage it’s not about money. I’m more so concerned about the rest of my sheep, I’m thinking when is it going to stop and always keeping an eye.
“I spent the last few weeks looking, I checked all over the land and they are definitely not dead on it,” McCarthy added.
McCarthy said that his neighbour is also missing four or five sheep and said that he believes the sheep “may have been stolen”.
“I have been in touch with all the hill farmers around the area and we will have to set up a group to keep an eye on the hills, because it’s an ongoing issue.
“They may have been taken, but I don’t know how anyone would stop sheep being taken whether its on high ground or low ground, because tags don’t make any difference. If you bring in those ewes, cut out their tags and sheer them, then who is to say who owns them?,” McCarthy said.
The incident has been reported to gardaí and a reward of €2,000 is being offered for information on the whereabouts of the sheep.