Rustling is now such a threat to livestock farms that some victims are changing their farming practices to avoid further thefts.PC Sebastian Haggett, of Dorset Police's rural crime team, reports that some farmers are too scared to keep animals in fields that have previously been targeted by rustlers.That, he says, is a double financial blow to their businesses, as they will still be incurring a cost for farming that land.In 2020, animals worth an estimated ￡2.3m were stolen from UK farms; although this was down on the previous year - an outcome which is thought to be in part a result of the coronavirus pandemic lockdowns. The southwest of England, however, saw a sharp rise in livestock mstiing.
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