Mid-Scotland and Fife MSP Murdo Fraser wants a joined up approach to tackle rural crime as figures from NFU Mutual and the National Farmers Union suggest that the cost of rural crime in 2013 increased in Fife and increased year-on-year in Perthshire and Clackmannanshire.
Leading agricultural insurer, NFU Mutual’s have estimated that criminal activity cost Scotland’s countryside around £1.9 million in 2013 alone, a figure expected to be higher in 2014.
NFU Mutual has also identified livestock rustling as an emerging crime across the UK, with over 4,200 animals – mainly sheep – reported stolen in Scotland in 2013.
NFU Scotland’s Legal and Technical committee chairman, Jamie Smart, was giving evidence to the Scottish Parliament’s Justice Committee when highlighting these figures.
Commenting Murdo Fraser MSP said:
“Although rural crime is not recorded separately by Police Scotland, the figures from NFU Mutual underline the increasing spread of this very specific type of crime.
“With rural crime on the rise in Perthshire, Fife and Clackmannanshire I would encourage farmers to be watchful when it comes to making sure their equipment is kept safe at night.
“The NFUS have raised this issue in the Scottish Parliament and I too would call for the successful Farm Watch programme to be rolled out across the whole of Scotland.
“It is important that Farmers in Perthshire, Fife and Clackmannanshire are engaged with local police to ensure that they are aware of what signs to look for when it comes to identifying possible risks.”