A Central Victorian farmer says he returned from a protest in Melbourne to find 80 prized merino sheep — worth about $12,000 — stolen from his property in a brazen daylight theft.
Strathlea farmer and volunteer firefighter Tony Butler was devastated after discovering his sheep had been taken while he joined a rally against the emergency services levy in Melbourne last week.
“You feel used, you feel defiled, you feel disrespected,” Butler told ABC.
“That was just the icing on the cake, to come home and find someone had been helping themselves to your stock. That was the last straw — I’ve nearly had enough.”
The theft reportedly occurred around 8:30am on Wednesday, 21 May, while Butler was away overnight with family and fellow farmers attending the protest.
Authorities believe four men were involved, allegedly herding the sheep into a light blue enclosed trailer attached to a white van at Browns Track. A woman driving in the area witnessed the theft and alerted police.
Goldfields crime investigators have since released digitally generated images of three suspects based on witness descriptions.
Detective Senior Constable Daniel Barker said the sheep rustlers may be part of a “network of offenders” suspected of making multiple trips to the property over several days.
“These farmers are doing it hard enough as it is with the drought — let alone having people coming onto their property and stealing livestock,” he said.
“This incident stands out because it was so brazen — committed at 8:30am, in daylight.”
Butler, who runs about 8,000 sheep in a mixed farming operation, said the stolen animals were two-and-a-half-year-old ewes, in lamb and from a prized wool-producing bloodline.
He suspects the thieves exploited the farmers’ absence during the Melbourne rally.
“I suspect that because of the farmers’ rally in Melbourne, they [thought they] had less of a chance of being caught.”
This is not the first time Butler’s property has been targeted. He has previously installed security cameras and is now trialling GPS-tracking eartags that send alerts when stock are moved at irregular hours.
Police are investigating whether the stolen sheep are being moved to Melbourne or surrounding suburbs. Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.
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