STEALING OF SHEEP

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19106, 29 August 1936, Page 2

STEALING OF SHEEP

A GROWING PROBLEM

COMMENT L\ THE HOUSE

(Parliamentary Heporter.) WELLINGTON, this day

Sheep stealing in back country districts has become so prevalent in some parts of the Dominion that, according to Mr. W. J. Poison (Nat.. Stratford), farmers have set 'up vigilance committees. Tie drew the attention of the lion. P. Fraser to this question when the Police. Department’s estimates were under consideration in the House of Representatives, stating that the practice seemed to be to steal small numbers nt a time. Rewards had been offered for information leading to conviction, hut it was a difficult problem and the ordinary police could not be expected to understand the highly technical subject, of brands and earmarks. Possibly liioro could he move patrols of the roads and an arrangement with stock and station agents. There should be no stock allowed lo travel without a license or permit signed by a responsible authority. The Minister replied that he would be only too pleased to arrange that the Commissioner of Police should confer with any committee nominated by farmers organisations to consider the question It,' was impossible to arrange police patrols in wide country areas, and if it was found advisable to provide some form of permit, this should not be too inquisitorial.

He was advised iliat one difficulty was that farmers did not, keep accurate records and that detectives, therefore, found it difficult to establish that numbers of sheep had disappeared. As for the problem of brands and earmarks, the police wlio investigated complaints of this class were men with knowledge of country conditions.