THE National Livestock Identification System (NLIS) for sheep has been described by WA police as being next to useless when it comes to investigating stock theft, making it impossible for them to prove theft has occurred.
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Narrogin police were investigating a recent case of alleged stock theft which saw them seize more than 700 head of sheep from a Moodiarrup property in late May.
According to Detective Sergeant Peter McGee, all of the sheep plus their lambs, which were born in police custody, had now been returned to the property owner except for two, which were returned to a neighbouring farm.
No charges had been laid in relation to stock theft, but several charges were laid under the Firearms Act and the Stock Identification and Movement Act.
Those charges will be heard in the Katanning Magistrates Court on November 10.
Det. McGee said police were still receiving reports of stock theft, but there were currently no active investigations because they did not have any leads on any of the reports.
He said they worked hand in hand with the Livestock Compliance Unit (LCU) in investigating stock theft reports.
"Stock theft is still a big problem and at last count there were more than 6000 head of sheep missing in the Great Southern," he said.
Det. McGee said the current sheep identification system combined with non-compliance of the system by producers, made it difficult for them to determine any continuity of stock movements or prove where stock was from.
"The current identification system and general non-compliance of it makes it next to impossible to prosecute for stock theft," Det. McGee said.
"It's an onerous system and I can understand why producers don't comply but they need to understand that by doing so it means we're unable to determine where stock has come from."
NLIS for sheep in WA is a mob-based identification system using visually readable ear tags combined with paper movement records, usually a national vendor declaration (NVD) waybill.
From July 1, sheep and goat producers in WA have also been able to record movements of sheep and goats on the NLIS database on a voluntary basis.
This will become compulsory in WA in 2011 once legislation is in place.
Farmers are encouraged to keep all documents relating to their stock, including NVD/waybills, which will help police gather evidence and make a case should stock theft occur on their property.
Narrogin police found that all producers seemed to be filling out NVD/waybills incorrectly and urged them to undestand that doing so did have serious consequences.
Det. McGee said unless farmers were moving a mob of sheep with the same tag, all sheep needed to be recorded individually, which admittedly took a long time.
At the moment, most producers simply wrote "various" on their NVD/waybills, which was not compliant with the act.
He said this left them open for prosecution by the police or LCU officers, but also left them vulnerable if they did have any stock stolen as they was a minimal chance of finding the sheep.
Det. McGee included their frustrations with the current NLIS for sheep, in the official report filed in relation to the latest stock theft case.
"We are working closely with the Agriculture and Food Department to try and find solutions for the industry," he said. "A system like the electronic identification ear tags used for cattle would be much better.
"People aren't stealing cattle anymore for the same reason they are stealing sheep.
"Electronic tagging would have huge benefits."
The LCU is scheduled to meet with WA police next week for a debrief meeting on stock theft, in which any concerns such as the issues surrounding NLIS will be raised.
* You can find more information on correctly filling out NVD/waybills here.
